The Officer in Charge of the Police Complaints Unit has urged the public to make complaints concerning police behaviour directly to the unit.
Acting Superintendent, Anthony Bernard Gaston, has stated that the Police Complaints Unit and the Police Complaints Commission were established specifically to handle specialised complaints, and as such they should be utilised as a first port of call when any complaint is made.
“The preference is for complaints to be received by the Police Complaints Commission,” he said. “What you don’t want is that at the initial stage when the complaint is made against a police officer, for that police officer to be the one receiving the complaint. The law intended for a level of objectivity at the initial stage.”
Acting Superintendent Gaston stressed that it may be hard for some to make the journey to Castries, the initial communication is vital.
“The scepticism regarding the whole question of police investigating police has been around for a long time and will continue to be with us. So any effort to diminish that particular perception will allow more confidence in the process, and will definitely serve well,” he said. “So it might be unfortunate that someone in Vieux Fort might have to come to Castries to make the complaint but that is what is required for objectivity and transparency.”
The complaints process involves the receipt of the complaint at the commission, and the transfer of the complaint to the complaints unit for investigations.
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