INDECOM concerned with number of cops charged in 2022

Fifteen police officers were arrested and charged last year for a raft of criminal offences including murder, according to the Independent Commission of Investigations' (INDECOM) final quarterly report for 2022.

The statistic is "a cause for some serious concern", according to the Hugh Faulkner, the agency's commissioner.

"There were 19 charges in 2021, but 15 is quite a number of officers charged. It would be ideal to have nobody being charged for a criminal offence," Faulkner told THE WEEKEND STAR. One of the officers was also charged with five counts of assault at common-law in 2022. The report also said that five police officers were charged with murder and another six with assault occasioning bodily harm. One officer was charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm and two others for willingly making false statements to the commission. Faulkner has welcomed a recent announcement by Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson, who said members of the police force will soon be wearing body cameras in the field.

"We remain steadfast in our request for intelligence driven distribution of the devices across police divisions. In fact, in a matter of months, our quarterly reports will give data on the number of incidents in which body-worn camera has been used and where it was not engaged," Faulkner added. He also raised concerns over the volume of reports that his entity received last year as it relates to shooting incidents involving the police and individuals who are deemed to be mentally ill. Thirty persons were either shot and killed or injured by the police during confrontations, 12 of which were fatal shootings.

"Those findings indicated that seven of the fatalities reportedly had bladed weapons such as a knife, machete, etc. Two had stones and three had no gun or any other weapon. Of the 18 injured, two reportedly had a firearm, while 12 with bladed weapons and two with no gun or other weapon. There was one instance with one individual with a stone and another with a piece of wood," Faulkner added.

"INDECOM restates our desire that steps be taken to de-escalate situations where the mentally ill are threatening. Where appropriate, we are not asking the security forces to put their lives on the line, but seek to disarm, seek to subdue, utilise non-lethal weapons," he said. He also shared that there was a 42 per cent increase in complaints against the Department of Correctional Services for abuse. Seventy-six were reported to INDECOM in 2021, but those numbers rose to 108 last year.

A total of 164 civilians died last year from security force-related incidents that the entity investigated. Of that amount, 134 were fatally shot arising from 115 incidents. Also, there were 25 deaths in custody, although a majority were from natural causes.