PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson yesterday said he expects the Government's proposed National (Independent) Investigative Authority to come on stream by the end of the year.
During a post-Budget briefing held at Jamaica House, Mr. Patterson revealed additional details on the Government's intention to establish the new investigative body to tackle complex crimes and probe alleged police indiscretions.
He said the new body will draw on the human resources of several agencies that now probe felonies encompassing corruption, extortion, extradition, and financial crimes.
Drafting instructions for the establishment of the new body are now being finalised for presentation to Cabinet by the end of May. The legislation dealing with the new body will subsequently be brought before Parliament for approval.
Mr. Patterson had announced the planned establishment of the investigative body during his contribution to the Budget Debate on Tuesday.
Among the agencies whose investigations will be drawn into the new Authority are the Electoral Advisory Committee; the National Contracts Commission; the Office of the Political Ombudsman; the various Integrity Commissions and the Office of the Public Defender.
"We will be bringing together everybody under one umbrella with a proper command structure and the various bodies that need to have access to them for particular investigative purposes will be able to do so," Mr. Patterson said.
He added: "The exact complement of that (investigative) body is something we are now in the course of determining, having regard to what exists in the institutions that will be availing themselves of those services and what might be needed."
He noted that, in addition to bringing investigators now situated at other agencies into one office, persons who have retired from the Jamaica Constabulary Force(JCF) as well as young professionals with the required skills could also be recruited into the Authority.
