Cops need to keep up with the times for quality criminal investigations and prosecutions
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| The yet to be completed Bio-Laboratory at the Police Science Forensic Centre in Gordon, Port Moresby. – Pic courtesy of The National |
Cops need to keep up with the times for quality criminal investigations and prosecutions
PORT MORESBY: Police have been losing too many criminal cases in courts that public confidence in prosecutions have been shaken or jolted.
With technology and greater awareness raised in the Information Communications Technology, crime is getting complicated and extremely difficult to crack.
This demands any police force in the world to keep up with the times to ensure that they are fully equipped with techniques and skills that ensure efficient and effective criminal investigations and prosecutions.
PNG Cyber Monitor found these reports published by The National informative and an eye opener to the public:
Measures to raise efficiency in police probes and prosecutions
POLICE have been losing too many criminal cases in courts in the last two decades. The National’s senior reporter Clifford Faiparik talks to Crime Division Asst Comm (ACP) Hodge Ette on his plans to revamp and raise efficiency in police investigations and prosecutions.
PAPUA New Guinea (PNG)’s police Crime Division consists of seven directorates – Forensic, National Fraud and Anti-Corruption, Prosecutions, National Anti-Drug and Anti-Vice Squad, National Crime Investigations, Transnational Crime and National Crime Intelligence.
ACP Ette … focus is on training to enhance investigations and prosecutions.
“These directorates under my command are critical in the Royal Papua New Police Constabulary to ensure justice is delivered to everyone, irrespective of status and position,” Crime DivisionACP Hodge Ette said.
“However their functions have deteriorated in the last 20 years due to poor investigations and poor prosecutions resulting in many sensitive cases being thrown out of the courts. And this is a serious concern for the police force and the nation as a whole.
“When cases like murder, rape, robbery and fraud get thrown out of the courts, the victims and their families’ hope for justice also get thrown out, causing more aguish and mistrust in the judiciary system.
“The rot is due to detectives and prosecutors having not undergone any basic and advance courses in investigations and prosecutions. So the younger detectives and prosecutors learn through on the job training by observing the performance of their senior officers.
“However it is not effective as we are now seeing experienced lawyers defending their clients before the courts and can easily detect flaws in the wording of charges or even wrong charges. They then call for the dismissal of the cases.
“Two things hit the media headlines. When suspects are caught and when a case is dismissed or struck out because of lack of evidence.
“So my vision is to focus on training. We have done an audit on my division to review our manpower, logistics and level of experiences and qualifications. At the Bomana Training College, we have upgraded the prosecution training curriculum to cater for new legislations.
“Also, we have the assistance of the Australian Assisting Policing (AAP) partnership programme and we have begun looking at prosecutions nationwide,” he added.
ACP Ette said the audit had been completed and action plans had been put in place by the late Prosecution Director Chief Supt Jimmy Onopia.
“We also had meetings with our stakeholders, like the Public Prosecutor, Public Solicitor, Magisterial Services, National Judicial Services and the Attorney-General’s Office as well.
“To date, we have launched three prosecution training workshops in Kokopo (New Guinea Island region), Bomana (Southern) Mt Hagen (Highlands) and Lae (Momase).
“Prosecution curriculum training is also sorely needed, and we have come up with six handbooks. The handbooks cover the Cyber Crime Act, Family Protection and the Family Protection Act.
“We have also developed a sentencing hand book on Juvenile justice. These handbooks are for the training programmes for prosecution. We have been very lucky to have the support and backing of the AAP partnership.
“The AAP have been playing a significant role in driving the training programmes. These are exciting times for prosecutors. We have something unique that is being developed to strengthen our prosecutions, and take accountability of the cases.
“All files from detectives to prosecutors must be checked. If the file is not in order, it should not see the light of day light in court. It should be referred back to the investigator.
“Many times the cases are thrown out of courts basically because the file is not in order in the first place. Our prosecutors too did not check. So I am now insisting that all prosecutors take account of the case.
“I will ensure that all the investigators are held accountable and I am demanding all prosecutors must inspect the briefs all files received from investigators.
“If a file is not in order, the case file must be returned to the investigator for appropriate action. Tell them to do it again. Our prosecutors have the constitutional duty to ensure that case files that are not in order do not get to court.
“We hope that we will cut down on defective files ending being thrown out by courts,” he added.
“I have also disbanded the controversial Vetting Committee and I am now planning to set up a Sub Adjudicating Committee nationwide. This committee will review all the cases after every arrest.
“And if a case lacks evidence and is likely to be struck out or dismissed in committal proceedings in a district court, then the committee will instruct the detectives working on the case to investigate further and collect more evidence.
“And after the case file is satisfactorily completed with adequate evidence, then it will be handed over to the police prosecutor for action before the courts.
“The committee is different from the former Vetting Committee. In the past, the Vetting Committee meets and verifies a case before an arrest is made.
“That committee can stop any arrest before any arrests are made if they feel that the case lacks evidence. But for the new committee, it will review the case after the arrest is made and then they can advise the detectives on what to do further for cases to proceed smoothly at committal proceedings at the National Court,” he added.
ACP Ette said there were many reforms that police prosecutors were not aware or familiar with, like the new Acts like in Road Traffic, Cybercrime, Lukautim Pikinini Act etc. Most of our prosecutors are not competent to prosecute cases, especially fraud and anti-corruption cases that are handled by professional lawyers. They sit in court rooms in awe of the suspect’s professional private lawyers and they are lost. We are also looking at recruiting lawyers and even law gradates as police prosecutors after their graduation at the Legal Training Institute.,” he added.
ACP Ette said another area that needed to be upgraded in police investigations and prosecutions were the police intelligence officers and their information gathering system.
“These officers need specialised training to improve their skills in intelligence and information gathering. We don’t have intelligence courses at the Bomana police college. We also need police analysers to analyse the raw information collected by our police field intelligence officers for proper and efficient collating.
“We are looking at the AAP to help us in training our intelligence officers. We are also looking at the Indonesian police intelligence officers to train us as well,” he added.
ACP Ette said: “We have also identified the need to better train our fraud officers. Since last year, the Australian Aid, under the Law and Justice Service Sector, has helped us to fund training and workshops for fraud officers nationwide.
“After all, we also don’t have training courses in Bomana for fraud and anti-corruption investigations and prosecutions. And fraud and anti-corruption cases are becoming rampant in public offices.
“We have not only started criminal investigation courses with the help of the AAP. We are also looking into gender equality needs and some 20 women detectives are undergoing courses. They come from all over PNG.
“We are trying to elevate and up skill women in criminal investigations. We are also running prosecution courses for policewomen. And we also thinking of bringing in retired detectives and Prosecutors to run courses,” he added.
ACP Ette said anti-drug and anti-vice detectives also needed to improve their investigation skills because of the growing use of sophisticated technology in such activities.
“Such crimes are also rampant because of the illicit rewards and potential gains. Our detectives need to acquire skills to keep them ahead and smarter than those involved in smuggling and peddling of hard drugs and pornographic materials.
“The peddling of traditional drugs like marijuana is still rampant nationwide,” he added.
One of the most important aspect of police investigations, if not most crucial, ACP Ette said, was the field of forensic science.
“We need to upgrade our National Forensic Services to become a Directorate. The forensic laboratory must be upgraded to effectively suit our needs for all sorts of tests. Drugs, firearms, ballistic, finger prints, document examination and crime scene investigation,” he said.
ACP Ette said the Transnational Crime Unit was currently reporting directly to the Australian Federal Police.”
“We now want the unit to also report to our Commissioner. We give them the tasks but they report to Pacific Transnational Crime Centre in Samoa which is funded by Australia,” he added.
ACP Ette said: “Another thing that is set to be different is the salary scheme of our detectives and prosecutors so that they don’t get the same salary as their equivalent rank in other units. They will be on contract. If they are transferred to other units, they will return to their normal salary in force,” he added.
“These directorates under my command are critical in the Royal Papua New Police Constabulary to ensure justice is delivered to everyone, irrespective of status and position,” Crime DivisionACP Hodge Ette said.
“However their functions have deteriorated in the last 20 years due to poor investigations and poor prosecutions resulting in many sensitive cases being thrown out of the courts. And this is a serious concern for the police force and the nation as a whole.
“When cases like murder, rape, robbery and fraud get thrown out of the courts, the victims and their families’ hope for justice also get thrown out, causing more aguish and mistrust in the judiciary system.
“The rot is due to detectives and prosecutors having not undergone any basic and advance courses in investigations and prosecutions. So the younger detectives and prosecutors learn through on the job training by observing the performance of their senior officers.
“However it is not effective as we are now seeing experienced lawyers defending their clients before the courts and can easily detect flaws in the wording of charges or even wrong charges. They then call for the dismissal of the cases.
“Two things hit the media headlines. When suspects are caught and when a case is dismissed or struck out because of lack of evidence.
“So my vision is to focus on training. We have done an audit on my division to review our manpower, logistics and level of experiences and qualifications. At the Bomana Training College, we have upgraded the prosecution training curriculum to cater for new legislations.
“Also, we have the assistance of the Australian Assisting Policing (AAP) partnership programme and we have begun looking at prosecutions nationwide,” he added.
ACP Ette said the audit had been completed and action plans had been put in place by the late Prosecution Director Chief Supt Jimmy Onopia.
“We also had meetings with our stakeholders, like the Public Prosecutor, Public Solicitor, Magisterial Services, National Judicial Services and the Attorney-General’s Office as well.
“To date, we have launched three prosecution training workshops in Kokopo (New Guinea Island region), Bomana (Southern) Mt Hagen (Highlands) and Lae (Momase).
“Prosecution curriculum training is also sorely needed, and we have come up with six handbooks. The handbooks cover the Cyber Crime Act, Family Protection and the Family Protection Act.
“We have also developed a sentencing hand book on Juvenile justice. These handbooks are for the training programmes for prosecution. We have been very lucky to have the support and backing of the AAP partnership.“The AAP have been playing a significant role in driving the training programmes. These are exciting times for prosecutors. We have something unique that is being developed to strengthen our prosecutions, and take accountability of the cases.
“All files from detectives to prosecutors must be checked. If the file is not in order, it should not see the light of day light in court. It should be referred back to the investigator.
“Many times the cases are thrown out of courts basically because the file is not in order in the first place. Our prosecutors too did not check. So I am now insisting that all prosecutors take account of the case.
“I will ensure that all the investigators are held accountable and I am demanding all prosecutors must inspect the briefs all files received from investigators.
“If a file is not in order, the case file must be returned to the investigator for appropriate action. Tell them to do it again. Our prosecutors have the constitutional duty to ensure that case files that are not in order do not get to court.
“We hope that we will cut down on defective files ending being thrown out by courts,” he added.
“I have also disbanded the controversial Vetting Committee and I am now planning to set up a Sub Adjudicating Committee nationwide. This committee will review all the cases after every arrest.
“And if a case lacks evidence and is likely to be struck out or dismissed in committal proceedings in a district court, then the committee will instruct the detectives working on the case to investigate further and collect more evidence.
“And after the case file is satisfactorily completed with adequate evidence, then it will be handed over to the police prosecutor for action before the courts.
“The committee is different from the former Vetting Committee. In the past, the Vetting Committee meets and verifies a case before an arrest is made.
“That committee can stop any arrest before any arrests are made if they feel that the case lacks evidence. But for the new committee, it will review the case after the arrest is made and then they can advise the detectives on what to do further for cases to proceed smoothly at committal proceedings at the National Court,” he added.
ACP Ette said there were many reforms that police prosecutors were not aware or familiar with, like the new Acts like in Road Traffic, Cybercrime, Lukautim Pikinini Act etc. Most of our prosecutors are not competent to prosecute cases, especially fraud and anti-corruption cases that are handled by professional lawyers. They sit in court rooms in awe of the suspect’s professional private lawyers and they are lost. We are also looking at recruiting lawyers and even law gradates as police prosecutors after their graduation at the Legal Training Institute.,” he added.
ACP Ette said another area that needed to be upgraded in police investigations and prosecutions were the police intelligence officers and their information gathering system.
“These officers need specialised training to improve their skills in intelligence and information gathering. We don’t have intelligence courses at the Bomana police college. We also need police analysers to analyse the raw information collected by our police field intelligence officers for proper and efficient collating.
“We are looking at the AAP to help us in training our intelligence officers. We are also looking at the Indonesian police intelligence officers to train us as well,” he added.
ACP Ette said: “We have also identified the need to better train our fraud officers. Since last year, the Australian Aid, under the Law and Justice Service Sector, has helped us to fund training and workshops for fraud officers nationwide.
“After all, we also don’t have training courses in Bomana for fraud and anti-corruption investigations and prosecutions. And fraud and anti-corruption cases are becoming rampant in public offices.
“We have not only started criminal investigation courses with the help of the AAP. We are also looking into gender equality needs and some 20 women detectives are undergoing courses. They come from all over PNG.
“We are trying to elevate and up skill women in criminal investigations. We are also running prosecution courses for policewomen. And we also thinking of bringing in retired detectives and Prosecutors to run courses,” he added.
ACP Ette said anti-drug and anti-vice detectives also needed to improve their investigation skills because of the growing use of sophisticated technology in such activities.
“Such crimes are also rampant because of the illicit rewards and potential gains. Our detectives need to acquire skills to keep them ahead and smarter than those involved in smuggling and peddling of hard drugs and pornographic materials.
“The peddling of traditional drugs like marijuana is still rampant nationwide,” he added.
One of the most important aspect of police investigations, if not most crucial, ACP Ette said, was the field of forensic science.
“We need to upgrade our National Forensic Services to become a Directorate. The forensic laboratory must be upgraded to effectively suit our needs for all sorts of tests. Drugs, firearms, ballistic, finger prints, document examination and crime scene investigation,” he said.
ACP Ette said the Transnational Crime Unit was currently reporting directly to the Australian Federal Police.”
“We now want the unit to also report to our Commissioner. We give them the tasks but they report to Pacific Transnational Crime Centre in Samoa which is funded by Australia,” he added.
ACP Ette said: “Another thing that is set to be different is the salary scheme of our detectives and prosecutors so that they don’t get the same salary as their equivalent rank in other units. They will be on contract. If they are transferred to other units, they will return to their normal salary in force,” he added.
Why police forces must keep up with the times
THIS 21st Century lighning-speed evolving digital technology has given rise to a new era of digital crime that can involve billions of dollars but yet difficult to detect or bring to book the perpetrators.
The National did a quick search on the matter and the following Interpol news report clearly tells global communities and governments why it is so imporatnt to keep police investigations and prosecutions up to date to remain relevant and effective in all fields.
This is one of them.
NUREMBERG, Germany: The impacts of Altcoins, an alternative to Bitcoins, on law enforcement investigations and prosecutions was the focus of the second meeting of the INTERPOL Working Group on Darknet and Cryptocurrencies.
With more than 2,000 different cryptocurrencies in existence, the Working Group had previously identified Altcoins as an emerging challenge for police investigations worldwide.
Co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice (Germany), the meeting brought together 52 participants from law enforcement, academia, private industry and international organisations in 25 countries.
The Working Group identified specific Altcoins which should be considered a priority, the most effective current investigative solutions, information sharing on the criminal use of Altcoins, and how to translate the complex technical details related to Altcoins into usable information for police and prosecutors.
At the two-day (Oct 10 and 11) meeting, the participants conducted an empirical study outlining the necessary steps for investigating crimes involving cryptocurrencies, and produced a report on the most significant Altcoins for law enforcement and their tracing capabilities. The aim is to ultimately develop a common investigative methodology to assist police in counteracting the criminal activities facilitate by the anonymous cryptocurrencies.
Bavarian State Minister of Justice, Winfried Bausback, said: “Cryptocurrencies give perpetrators the possibility to conceal their cash flows and identities across country borders, enabling them to elude law enforcement authorities. We can only confront the global cryptocurrency phenomenon by intensifying the international cooperation of powerful investigative structures.”
Thomas Janovsky, Public Prosecutor General in Bamberg in charge of the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime, noted the need for police and the judiciary alike to step up to these new challenges.
“Privacy oriented cryptocurrencies like Monero or Z-Cash might take over at least some of the market share of the Bitcoin within the criminal environment. Police experts, but also prosecutors as well as judges, must adapt to this new reality soon. We all need to get ahead of technological trends to successfully fight against the criminal use of cryptocurrencies,” said Mr Janovsky.
The first Working Group meeting, held in Singapore in March, looked at emerging threats including Darknet markets, cryptocurrency mixers, anonymisation techniques, lack of Altcoin tracing tools and decentralized escrow services.
The National did a quick search on the matter and the following Interpol news report clearly tells global communities and governments why it is so imporatnt to keep police investigations and prosecutions up to date to remain relevant and effective in all fields.
This is one of them.
NUREMBERG, Germany: The impacts of Altcoins, an alternative to Bitcoins, on law enforcement investigations and prosecutions was the focus of the second meeting of the INTERPOL Working Group on Darknet and Cryptocurrencies.With more than 2,000 different cryptocurrencies in existence, the Working Group had previously identified Altcoins as an emerging challenge for police investigations worldwide.
Co-hosted by INTERPOL and the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice (Germany), the meeting brought together 52 participants from law enforcement, academia, private industry and international organisations in 25 countries.
The Working Group identified specific Altcoins which should be considered a priority, the most effective current investigative solutions, information sharing on the criminal use of Altcoins, and how to translate the complex technical details related to Altcoins into usable information for police and prosecutors.
At the two-day (Oct 10 and 11) meeting, the participants conducted an empirical study outlining the necessary steps for investigating crimes involving cryptocurrencies, and produced a report on the most significant Altcoins for law enforcement and their tracing capabilities. The aim is to ultimately develop a common investigative methodology to assist police in counteracting the criminal activities facilitate by the anonymous cryptocurrencies.
Bavarian State Minister of Justice, Winfried Bausback, said: “Cryptocurrencies give perpetrators the possibility to conceal their cash flows and identities across country borders, enabling them to elude law enforcement authorities. We can only confront the global cryptocurrency phenomenon by intensifying the international cooperation of powerful investigative structures.”
Thomas Janovsky, Public Prosecutor General in Bamberg in charge of the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime, noted the need for police and the judiciary alike to step up to these new challenges.
“Privacy oriented cryptocurrencies like Monero or Z-Cash might take over at least some of the market share of the Bitcoin within the criminal environment. Police experts, but also prosecutors as well as judges, must adapt to this new reality soon. We all need to get ahead of technological trends to successfully fight against the criminal use of cryptocurrencies,” said Mr Janovsky.
The first Working Group meeting, held in Singapore in March, looked at emerging threats including Darknet markets, cryptocurrency mixers, anonymisation techniques, lack of Altcoin tracing tools and decentralized escrow services.
Our particular goal is modest, but indispensable: while we cannot change the political climate, we can train investigators to the highest standards, so that when the day of reckoning finally comes for the worst humanity has to offer, as it almost always does, the best of what humanity has to offer will be ready. –
Raymond McGrath, Institute for International Criminal Investigations PresidentACCORDING to Transparency International (TI), the police force is commonly identified as one of the most corrupt governmental institutions.
Police-related corruption may comprise of petty corruption where, for example, the public are expected to pay bribes for alleged traffic violations; at the other end of the spectrum, corrupt police officers can conspire with criminals and organised crime gangs in the trafficking of drugs, humans and weapons.
Case studies and literature reveal that there is no “one size fits all” approach to curbing police-related corruption. Case studies demonstrate that any measures must take into consideration the political, economic and social environment of a country and address the root causes of corruption rather than adopting a symptomatic approach.
For example, in Singapore and Georgia, low salaries and poor working conditions for members of the police force were identified as a cause of corruption among lower level police.
Corruption in the police ranges from petty corruption and small acts of bribery to criminal infiltration and political.
However, police corruption is generally categorised into four types:
- PETTY corruption among lower level police officers includes acts of bribery in everyday interactions with citizens (for example, by traffic police). According to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer, the police is the institution most often reported as being the recipient of bribes. For example, in the Middle East and North Africa, one in four people who dealt with police paid a bribe.
- Bureaucratic corruption or administrative corruption refers to the misuse of internal procedures and administrative processes and resources for private gain, such as licensing or a lack of response to citizen’s complaints against police officers.
- Corruption linked with criminal groups includes misconduct such as misleading investigations or tampering with evidence.
- High level or political corruption occurs where high level police officials abuse their power for personal gain or for the benefit of political groups to which they are formally or informally affiliated – in other words, criminal infiltration of the state. Political interference may also occur in police investigations, false investigations and the “framing” of political opponents.
The impact of corruption in the police can be far reaching. When basic functions of law and order are compromised by corrupt practices within a police force, the state cannot legitimately prevent and punish violations of the law or protect human rights.
Police corruption results in public mistrust of the police, rendering it more difficult for the police to perform what should be their primary task, countering crime. It compromises the institutional integrity of a policing system and undermines its legitimacy.
Further, if the public is to respect the law, they must be confident that the police adhere to the law in general, and that, in applying the law, they treat people equally.
A serious result of police corruption is weakening ethical standards in society.
If the public perceives the police to be benefiting from corruption, this could lower their own moral standards and make them more willing to engage in criminal behaviour.
Police corruption can also damage a state’s international reputation if, for example, there is evidence of police involvement in transnational arms, drugs or human trafficking.
In short, police corruption can be harmful to democracy, the role of police in society and the community trust’s in the police force.
Police corruption results in public mistrust of the police, rendering it more difficult for the police to perform what should be their primary task, countering crime. It compromises the institutional integrity of a policing system and undermines its legitimacy.
Further, if the public is to respect the law, they must be confident that the police adhere to the law in general, and that, in applying the law, they treat people equally.
A serious result of police corruption is weakening ethical standards in society.
If the public perceives the police to be benefiting from corruption, this could lower their own moral standards and make them more willing to engage in criminal behaviour.
Police corruption can also damage a state’s international reputation if, for example, there is evidence of police involvement in transnational arms, drugs or human trafficking.
In short, police corruption can be harmful to democracy, the role of police in society and the community trust’s in the police force.
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