Police Reforms in Jamaica and Antigua & Barbuda

In late 2007, the governments of two Commonwealth Caribbean nations, Antigua & Barbuda and Jamaica, announced their intention to engage in varying degrees of police reform. The backdrop to police reform in the region, and particularly Jamaica, is high levels of violent crime fuelled by the drug trade. The Caribbean is a key trafficking route which links South America to the United States and Europe and drug trafficking, crimes of violence (including sexual violence and gun violence), kidnapping, robbery and transnational organised crime are all prevalent forms of crime in the region.

In both Antigua & Barbuda and Jamaica, the governments are promising police reform in a campaign to crack down on the increasing levels of violent crime. In Antigua & Barbuda, proposed reform measures include new dispatch rules (aimed at improving police efficiency), new evidence collection systems and increasing sentences for crimes involving firearms or other dangerous weapons. While it is important to improve the environment in which police forces operate, the reform process must also include legislative and operational frameworks to ensure that police discharge their duties in a manner consistent with human rights, and provide for mechanisms which make police accountable for failing to do so. The introduction of effective accountability mechanisms is particularly important in Jamaica, where police abuses and extra-judicial killings are the most reported human rights abuses by Jamaicans to the Jamaica Council for Human Rights.

In the Jamaican context, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dorothy Lightbourne has announced that her cabinet will issue drafting instructions for the establishment of an Independent Investigative Body (IIB) for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). Currently, police oversight in Jamaica is the domain of numerous bodies, including the Police and Public Complaints Authority, the Office of the Public Defender, the Police Civilian Oversight Authority, the Police Services Commission and the Professional Standards Branch (incorporating the Office of the Professional Responsibility and the Bureau of Special Investigations).

These existing mechanisms have been beset by problems, including a lack of enforcement powers, low staffing levels, insufficient resources and concerns about commitment to tasks and standards of work. The IIB must take into account the factors that have rendered the plethora of existing accountability and oversight mechanisms ineffective. In addition, the new body must be designed to work with and compliment the accountability mechanisms that will remain in place following the establishment of the IIB.

In Antigua & Barbuda, the Attorney General and Minister for Legal Affairs announced that the government proposes to embark on a more general reform of the Royal Police Force of Antigua & Barbuda. As part of this process, the retired Assistant Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Mr. Alphonse Breau was commissioned to investigate and report on the effectiveness of the police. However, Mr. Breau’s report has not been released publicly in order that the reform process is transparent, participatory and enables key stakeholders (including civil society) to engage and consult.

There is currently no standing internal investigation body in Antigua & Barbuda, despite concerns about the extent to which political influence on police has resulted in corruption at the political directorate and police rank levels. In the event that Mr. Breau’s report does not recommend the establishment of an independent police oversight body, the Government of Antigua & Barbuda should nevertheless introduce such a mechanism.

Any proposed independent police accountability mechanism in Antigua & Barbuda, and the proposed Jamaica IIB, must accord with international standards of good practice. These standards include:

While the announcements by the governments of Antigua & Barbuda and Jamaica signal the first steps on the road to reforming their respective police services, only comprehensive police operational reform coupled with a truly independent, empowered and resourced independent oversight body will ensure that the post-reform police operate effectively, with respect for human rights and with full public confidence.