Members of the Bahamian public filed 398 complaints against 8.2 percent of officers on the police force in 2002, according to Assistant Superintendent Franklyn Dames.
Of these, 170 are still under active investigation; 140 have been completed and 88 are subjudice.
The complaints ranged from allegations of minor misconduct to assaults as well as false arrests and imprisonment.
Overall, complaints were made against 255 officers. Eight officers having three complaints each against them. Four complaints were made against one officer and seven complaints were made against another officer.
The number of complaints received in 2002 were down by two from 2001, police figures show.
“Fifty-four percent of the 140 matters that were completed were substantiated with the remaining 46 percent lacking sufficient evidence to be substantiated,” Mr. Dames said.
Thirty-one reports of corruption were made last year compared with 28 in 2001.
Twenty-four of them are still under active investigation while seven were completed. Four complaints were also filed against officers of another law enforcement agency.
Seventy-five percent of the complaints charged unethical behaviour.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force has just over 3,000 police officers, including reserve officers and civilian aides.
Assistant Superintendent Dames said that the majority of complaints were made against officers who had less than ten years service on the force and perform mostly front line policing duties.
Commissioner of Police Paul Farquharson has agreed to start remedial courses this year for those officers who had numerous complaints lodged against them.
“The course is expected to focus on assisting officers to be more sensitive to the rights of members of the public as they discharge their duties,” Mr. Dames said.
Just recently, the Government announced the composition of a civilian branch of the complaints and corruption branch, headed by businessman Carleton Williams.
The appointment of this unit is expected to speed up addressing the complaints and also help to ensure fairness in conclusions reached.
The Bahama Journal
