By Kieron Murdoch | Opinion Contributor

Our society too often undervalues the work of our law enforcement officers and is too sluggish to invest in them and their ability to do the job set out for them. If we expect stellar performance, we must concern ourselves with supporting their ever-present but seldom-pressed demands for better working conditions. Similarly, we must support the implementation of reforms that we as residents know are overdue despite police reluctance or political disinterest.

Look no further for a sign of our collective failure to do right by our officers than the depressing state of some of their premises. The story of the now closed St. John’s Police Station and its slow decay over time going largely unaddressed speaks for itself. In her recent report, the Ombudsman called the conditions that officers previously coped with there as “the most horrendous, inhumane and sub-human”, speaking of decay, pests, termites, and filth.

The sight of the Liberta Police Station for example, makes one wonder what must go through the minds of the officers who are obligated to work there day-to-day. Even the sight of the Police Headquarters on American Road leaves one somewhat stunned. The challenge is, most of us will never have occasion to visit a police station and therefore cannot grasp the nature of what our officers contend with on a daily basis in some cases.

There is a larger national problem to be addressed of inadequate spaces for public servants to do their work, but the burden of the police seems peculiar, in that they crack on with the job without the same outrage as others. There is perhaps no truer test perhaps of whether or not a premises are suitable for public servants than to bring the Minister responsible to the said premises and ask them if they would be willing to work there everyday.

Investing in our officers and in their ability to work also means providing them with the necessary tools required to do their jobs, and providing those tools in a timely manner. It should not take a crime wave or a national crisis for such investment to occur. By that time, the criminal activity that being so equipped would help deter would already have taken place.

Do the police as yet have a modern radio communication system as has been discussed in the news on occasion? What is the status of this? Is there yet a system of functional CCTV cameras in key public spaces to be monitored by law enforcement as has been talked about on and off? What about the belated forensic lab? A simple Google search will bring up a deluge of pledges that appear to be going nowhere.

ANR, January 2019: “Legal Affairs Minister Steadroy Cutie Benjamin disclosed today that EC$ 2 million has been set aside for the construction of the country’s very own forensic lab.”

Observer, January 2022: “Antigua and Barbuda’s Commissioner of Police has made a call for the government to construct a new state of the art forensics laboratory in the country. According to Atlee Rodney… currently, when samples are sent overseas for analysis, they are not given priority.”

Observer, February 2022: “Evidence still has to be sent overseas for analysis – a process which takes months as in the murder case of Customs officer Nigel Christian. However, during the budget presentation yesterday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced that that situation will change this year.”

Antigua.news, June 2023: “The government is working feverishly to ensure that the country has its own forensic lab in short order. According to Public Safety Minister Steadroy Benjamin, the country may be able to analyse evidence collected from ​crime scenes, suspects, and victims for itself as early as mid-July barring any unforeseen circumstances.”

Observer, September 2023: “Plans to establish a much-needed forensic laboratory in the country have not been abandoned, as affirmed by Public Safety Minister Steadroy Benjamin in the latest update on the matter. Benjamin told Observer, ‘It’s going well… I am satisfied with the progress.’”

ANR, November 2023: “Antigua and Barbuda’s plan for a forensic laboratory, previously announced but not implemented, is now progressing, assures Public Safety Minister Sir Steadroy Benjamin. Recent discussions and the upcoming installation of equipment from China suggest that the facility will be operational in a few months.”

Observer, July 2024: “The country is making steady progress towards establishing its first forensic laboratory. Public Safety Minister Sir Steadroy Benjamin has confirmed that plans are ‘well on stream,’ although a specific completion timeline was not provided.”

What it must be like to be a police officer investigating murders, robberies and sex crimes, and enduring endless calls by family members and loved ones for progress and justice, while having to wait months to get back evidence samples from an overseas lab. All the while, officials effuse the same pledges repeatedly.

And what about other basic issues like pay, leave, overtime, insurance, and the like? We don’t hear very much about these and we are not sure if it’s because progress is being made silently (which could well be the case) or rather, if it is because a lack of progress has become the norm to which we have collectively resigned ourselves as a society.

It goes without saying that the police do onerous work, tiresome work, stressful work and dangerous work, and therefore ought to be fairly compensated by the system and the society that they serve. Otherwise, we are heaving a burden onto the backs of our policemen and policewomen with the risk of creating low morale, burnout and poor performance.

Against the backdrop of inflation and other pressures, how far does a policeman’s salary really stretch? Are police officers expected to afford to feed a family with multiple children? Are they expected to be able to afford a mortgage? Or pay for a child to go to university? If they end up working second jobs, side gigs, and running small businesses, what sort of conflicts does that create for their obligations to the force and their role as law enforcement?

The mental health of our officers is another important factor. Working in such demanding roles under often challenging circumstances can and will undoubtedly have its consequences on their mental wellbeing. Imagine being called to deal with domestic violence, domestic disputes, truancy issues, assault, sexual violence, and interacting with intemperate persons who are in conflict with the law, and then having to go home and be a mother, father, caregiver, husband or wife. We know the police have the benefit of a counsellor or counsellors. Hopefully, the level of support provided is adequate, and if not, this must be addressed.

Working environment, premises, tools to do the job, fair compensation, benefits, mental health – these are all areas where we owe it to law enforcement to ensure that they are well provided for and get the support they need. But we must also concern ourselves with long overdue reforms which we know will improve our police force – its integrity, accountability and service to the public – even if these are measures of which the police themselves are sceptical, or in which policymakers are disinterested.

How long has it been since the Minister of Public Safety discussed the need for an independent (civilian staffed) police complaints authority? How many times have there been questionable incidents into which there is an internal investigation which is not made public? What does that practice do to the public’s perception of the police and of police accountability? What has become of the investigation into the shooting of Mannie James who was unarmed when he was shot while being pursued by a joint police ABDF patrol?

How much transparency was there when Delano Forbes escaped armed police custody while visiting a site with officers to assist in their investigations? We know several officers faced internal charges. But where was the final report on what litany of failures allowed him to escape? What measures were taken in response to tighten up the protocol surrounding such excursions? What happened to the probe into the hazing incidents at the police academy years back? Is the public not entitled to know the results of these probes? Or is public administration to be conducted in secret?

What became of the case of Kernis ‘Redman’ Jules who was shot by a senior officer under circumstances that did not appear to warrant the officer discharging a firearm? What consequences followed? How were the rules amended to prevent a repeat? Who was disciplined and in what way? What will become of the probe into the conduct of the officer who violently threw a woman to the ground during a fete this year?

What about the debacle that ensued when a complaint was lodged against the former Commissioner of Police, Wendel Robinson? Do you recall the back and forth over how the Police Service Commission should have proceeded? Remember how a team from CARICOM had to be called up and sworn in as special constables to give some air of independence and credibility to the fiasco? Would an independent complaints authority not be better positioned to probe cases against officers even up to the rank of Commissioner?

The Office of Professional Standards is the internal investigative unit in the force. It investigates complaints of misconduct made both internally and externally against police officers. The trouble with internal investigative units in police forces around the world is that generally, the public does not have confidence in their ability to be impartial when lapses in conduct occur.

They often treat their work and conclusions as internal matters, not for publication. And the camaraderie that naturally exists between officers in any uniformed organisation has the potential to impact the impartiality with which investigations are conducted, regardless of the good intentions of the fine men and women doing the work. An independent civilian body that provides summary reports to the public, is open to questioning by the media, and acts with impartiality, has been needed for an age now. See below what a quick Google search produces as regards the promises made to establish such an authority.

Observer, June 2020: “The establishment of an independent police complaints commission is under consideration, Attorney General Steadroy ‘Cutie’ Benjamin said in response to calls for the creation of such a body.”

ANR, March 2021: Public Safety Minister Steadroy Benjamin said the government will establish an independent body to address complaints against police officers. ‘I want to put the police on notice,’ he said in Parliament on Thursday.”

ABS, June 2022: New legislation governing the police force is weeks away from being taken before Parliament. The amended Police Act will pave the way for a new independent tribunal to investigate complaints by members of the public against law enforcers. The disclosure came on Friday from Attorney General and Public Safety Minister, Hon. Steadroy Benjamin.

It’s September of 2024, and no such body yet exists. Who is responsible for that? Where is the accountability for promises not kept?

We also need strict procedures to be followed in terms of police involved shootings that result in injustice or loss of life – automatic reviews by a civilian authority that are triggered to ensure the use of force was justified. We need a protocol that ensures that body cameras are worn by police in certain circumstances, especially when confrontation is expected. This avoids a he said, she said situation. It will also provide policymakers and the people who advise them with a body of evidence demonstrating police conduct (good or bad) and creating a basis for recommendations for improvement.

Moreover, it has been suggested by retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Nuffield Burnette, many times, that an oversight body be created for the police force – one with broad participation from different stakeholders, and one which is responsible for regularly recommending improvements, raising alarms and promoting high standards. We are inclined to agree.

Could such a body not include the DPP,  two nominees from the bar association, a nominee from the PM, a nominee from the Opposition Leader, and one or two representatives representing the interests of communities, and businesses? Could the Ombudsman, acting as the local human rights authority, sit on this body as well? And while it would not have power to direct the police, could it not provide regular reports to the Minister and the Parliament on recommended improvements?

What about police recruitment standards? A quick search will land you at police.gov.ag/faq/ where you will see that in order to become a police officer, the force demands that “all interested candidates should possess at least three CXCs” and that “English A or English B would be an asset.” Are we being elitist in believing that having three CXC passes is not a sufficient standard for recruiting officers? What do you think? And what is this about “English A would be an asset”? Is this to suggest that you can fail CXC English and be hired as a police officer? Did we stumble upon an error?

If we lower the standards for recruitment too far, how then can we expect officers to demonstrate a full and comprehensive understanding of the law as relates to a citizen’s rights, or under what circumstances you can make an arrest, or under what circumstances you can search someone’s person or a home, or a vehicle?

How can we expect officers to gain a total command of the laws they are meant to apply everyday if we say that you can be an officer with three CXCs and English language does not have to be one of them? How can officers hope to benefit adequately from opportunities for training and learning if they are recruited without the necessary academic skills to perform well in such environments? Is this not offensive to hundreds of hard working, high achieving policemen and policewomen who treat their profession as sacrosanct?

We began by stating that our society too often undervalues the work of our law enforcement officers and is too sluggish to invest in them and their ability to do the job set out for them. And we believe the truth of that is demonstrated by what we have discussed here. As we mark Police Week, let us keep these things in mind:

For the security of our nation to be guaranteed, the wellbeing of the people who sacrifice themselves to the cause of law enforcement must also be guaranteed. We are obligated as a society to treat them fairly, pay them fairly, and look after them. However, it is also essential that we demand high standards of performance from them in line with the level of power with which they have been bestowed.

Importantly, we cannot demand one without the other. We cannot demand the highest level of performance but maintain a low recruitment standard. We cannot demand the highest level of performance but pay officers so little that they must dedicate themselves to other jobs. We cannot house our policemen and policewomen in dilapidated structures but hope that they come to work eagerly and with high morale.

We cannot demand that crimes be solved, but fail to provide the tools necessary for effective investigation and policing. We cannot demand improvements in procedure and strategy, but fail to implement an independent complaints authority or an oversight board to make such recommendations. If we expect stellar performance, we must concern ourselves with bettering the working conditions for our officers and also with the reforms that we as residents know are overdue.

About the writer:

Kieron Murdoch worked as a journalist and later as a radio presenter in Antigua and Barbuda for eight years, covering politics and governance especially. He is an opinion contributor at antigua.news. If you have an opinion on the issues raised in this editorial and you would like to submit a response by email to be considered for publication, please email staff@antigua.news.