By Petulia Clarke, Staff ReporterTHE POLICE Public Complaints Authority (PPCA) has not tabled a report in Parliament since its last in 1997/1998, and has blamed the backlog on crashed computers.
The PPCA, which investigates civilian complaints against members of the police force was last September mandated, through the PPCA Act, to give monthly reports on the cases it investigates, instead of the annual reports it previously published. But, checks with the library at Gordon House show that, the last report tabled there was for the period 1997-1998, and though a representative at the PPCA said that the most recent the 2000-2001 report was ready, it has not been distributed because it it waiting to be signed off on by PPCA directors.
Michael Cohen, the senior Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Justice, said yesterday that checks with directors of the PPCA showed that they had stepped up efforts to have the outstanding reports tabled, but the computer system had crashed and repairs were being done.
He said that by the end of March this year, the PPCA should begin making monthly reports.
Opposition spokesman on justice, Delroy Chuck, during debate in the House of Representatives last July argued that the PPCA needed to issue more regular reports if it were to enjoy public confidence in its work. He suggested that the body was doing good work which needed to be made public more regularly.
His major contention was that when the report is tabled in Parliament annually, many of the complaints against the police were already cleared up.
The PPCA comprises civilians and administrative staff appointed by the Governor-General. One of its main functions is to monitor and supervise the investigation of complaints made by members of the public against the police.
The formation of the PPCA in 1993 resulted from growing public concerns about the excessive force being used by some members of the police force. The group has investigated several cases over the years, including the police killing of seven young men in Braeton St. Catherine in 2001.
