The Financial Investigations Branch (FIB) of the Police Service has received a much-needed boost to its technical armoury following the introduction of audio-visual and recording equipment to be used in the fight against crime and corruption.
Unveiling the equipment during a brief ceremony at Riverside Plaza, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Stuart Young described the set-up as “essential.”
Although he was still acting as the National Security minister at the time, Young stressed that the handing over was being done in his capacity as minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.
Young’s acting appointment came to an end following Edmund Dillon’s return to the country yesterday.
Dillon had been absent as he attended a two-day Joint Inter-Agency Task Force SouthCom meeting in the US, to further bilateral relationships in the areas of intelligence sharing as well as international crime-fighting strategies.
Revealing that the Government had set about addressing critical security concerns soon after they assumed office eight months ago, Young said the equipment was: “essential in our view, in the fight against corruption and also in other areas of crime.”
He said it was designed to assist officers in obtaining statements from both suspects and witnesses, as well as forming part of the permanent records database; improving prosecution rates as they would be admissible in court; and removing doubt as to the treatment being meted out to those in custody who often claim police brutality and inhumane treatment.
Young said Government had been happy to assist in procuring and installing the equipment which had cost less than $150,000, assisted by their counterparts at the British High Commission.
Hopeful that the equipment could also be used by other arms of the Police Service, Young said 30 officers have so far been trained in its use.
Meanwhile, training of local technicians to maintain and service the equipment was also underway.
Officers of the Homicide Bureau were also given initial training as they too will have to utilise the equipment as they interrogate suspects.
Delving into government’s long-term plans to upgrade the national security infrastructure, Young said: “It is the first step. We hope to continue outfitting various police stations throughout T&T to ensure this useful equipment is utilised fully by the TTPS and other branches in the fight against crime and corruption.”
Heartened by the boost the equipment would provide in the successful prosecution of people before the court, Young said allegations that procedures were not followed by officers during interrogation could now “fall to the wayside” as there were draft protocols in place to ensure the smooth functioning of the entire process.
The new set-up will see suspects being questioned in one of two multi-purpose rooms in which wall-mounted cameras will record the proceedings, the audio of which will simultaneously be recorded on a machine using DVD’s.
A master control room located between the two rooms affords persons an opportunity to monitor the interviews being conducted.
Stressing that the recordings could not be manipulated externally as they would be date and time stamped, Young said the unit was designed to stop recording after a certain number of hours, which would remove claims of unfair treatment of suspects and aid in court admissibility.
The minister said they were now moving to have this as “the status quo” throughout the service as the Evidence Act allows for its use.
Present during the ceremony yesterday was Deputy Director, FIB, ASP Terrence Pierre who echoed Young’s concerns that the recordings can now be used in court to prosecute and convict persons charged with criminal offences.
Grateful for the equipment, Pierre said: “It lessens accusations that can be made against the prosecution in trying to admit statements into evidence.”
He said: “One can now clearly see and hear when it was recorded, what was said and the police and witness actions.”
Pierre said where accusations are made that proper procedure was not followed, “we can easily show this is not the truth.”
Anticipating a potential reduction in matters dismissed by the court owing to claims of improper interrogation or illegal procurement of statements, Pierre said the system had been specially designed with such attention to detail that it would leave no room for error.