West: No politics in PCA

Speaking on Friday during a community outreach meeting in Sangre Grande, West made it clear that the PCA was an independent, non-political organisation.

“We operate independently. It is only the President (Anthony Carmona) that can revoke my appointment and that of the other members. We feel very secure in our positions,” he said in response to a question during the open forum.

West said since his appointment in November 2014, there has never been any political interference in the operations of the PCA.

Earlier, in opening remarks, West, an anti-money laundering specialist attorney, told the gathering at the North-Eastern Community Centre that there has been an increasing number of complaints against police officers in the Eastern Division between within the past few years.

He said between 2014 and 2016, there has been a three-fold increase in the number of fatal shootings by police officers in the Eastern Division.

West added there also has been a three-fold increase in non-fatal shootings in the Division.

“So, as a PCA, we want to bring down the number of fatal shootings by police officers because at the end of the day that is what is important when dealing with the issue of serious crime,” he said.

In the same breath, West also commended the work of Senior Superintendent Garth Nelson and the police officers in the division which is said to have recorded the highest criminal detection rate in the country Nelson said last week that out of the 37 murders in the division last year, 10 resulted in prosecutions.

He attributed the division’s success to the work of officers and citizens In an attempt to extend its reach to citizens, West also announced that the PCA will be going high-tech through the purchase a new App within the next three months.

“Persons will be able to download the App for free and fill our complaints and send it to the PCA,” he said.

West, who showed slides of alleged police brutality within recent months, said people also will be able to take videos of infraction involving police and send it as an attachment to the PCA.

West also said there were gaps in the existing PCA legislation, which, he feels, must be urgently amended to provide greater efficiency.

For example, he said there must be mechanisms in place to allow PCA investigators to be on th scene of an incident within two to three hours of it occurring.

West said PCA investigators also should be empowered to intercept firearms at a scene as well as recommend that victims who are likely to be threatened be placed in a witness protection programme.

Saying there was a backlog of more than 1,000 cases pending before the PCA, West said attempts were being made to reduce the case load.

He said a new team has been established to deal with current matters.

“So, we have been trying in different ways to make it efficient without compromising our integrity,” West added.

The PCA director revealed that between January and March, the PCA has received some 67 police- related complaints, from the various police divisions, 11 of which were fatal shootings and four, non-fatal.