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a. when the contact is simply
informative |
Police contacts
The majority of contacts between the citizens and the police occur
when there is a situation of conflict. The citizen will call us through our
dispatcher at 717-8000 or at one of our offices on the island for assistance.
In most cases he will go in person to one of these offices in order to get a
solution to his problem. However, during the past months there have been a lot
of complaints about the police; the follow-up the police should give is very
poor according to a lot of people. We think that we have to make clear what a
report is and what cannot be referred to as a report. For the citizen who
approaches the police with a problem, there are three possible ways of getting
his problem addressed. These are:
a. when the
contact is simply informative
b. when the citizen
wants the police to mediate the problem
c. when the
citizen makes a formal report
a. when the contact is simply informative.
The purpose of a citizen's contact in this case is to tell the
police something he "knows". This can be about an actual crime, but it can also
be a "feeling" he has about someone or something. He wants to tell the police
about this, but he will make the police officer promise him that the police
officer will not mention his name because he does not want any problems with
other people. There are two ways the citizen can give his information. 1) He
can either go to the nearest police office on the island or dial 108. With this
kind of "anonymous" information, however, the police will not be able to do a
lot, because for the police to take action against someone on criminal charges,
there must be evidence. Furthermore, a judge must have clear and convincing
evidence to convict a criminal.
Just imagine yourself at home, sipping your
glass of wine and some police officers come in and arrest you. When you, of
course very irritated, ask them what's going on, they will give you as a
response "Sir, we're doing our job, we got some anonymous information
indicating you're involved in something fishy and we can't give you more
details". It doesn't sound fair, does it ? We don't think so. That's why we
want our community to be aware that giving information will not automatically
lead to the arrest of someone. 2) A citizen can also contact our C.I.D.
department. "C.I.D." stands for Criminal Information Department. Like the other
police departments, the C.I.D. also is obligated to conduct a proper
investigation regarding the information it gets. If the information turns out
to be trustworthy, the C.I.D. will give the police department the "green light"
to take action. You can contact the C.I.D. at 717-5041. Top
b. When the citizen wants the police to mediate the problem.
In this case a citizen has a problem with someone and is not able
to resolve it himself. This may be when he cannot think clearly about the
problem or when he is so angry that he knows things could get out of hand if he
acts on his own. Police mediation can occur in two ways: (1) the officer can
approach each party separately or (2) the solicitor can ask for police
mediation with both parties present. In this second case the mediation is
final; the solicitor can, however, ask for another- mediation if the problem
continues or can file an official report against the other party.
Mediation
never results in arrests.. Top
c. When making a formal report.
The police will make a report when a citizen wants his complaint
investigated, the perpetuator arrested and punished.
A report is a document
containing the statement of the complainer which the complainer signs. Once a
report has been filed, it is likely that the perpetuator will be arrested.
Arrest only occurs, however, after the police get authorization from the public
prosecutor.
To get the prosecutor's authorization the police must
investigate and present evidence to him. The prosecutor then will check to see
if the police have acted responsibly in gathering the evidence. (If the police
have not acted responsibly it is possible that the perpetuator will not be
arrested). There are two kinds of evidence: the technical like finger- and
footprints and the tactical (witness statements). The prosecutor will not
authorize an arrest when the evidence is "thin" or when there is no evidence at
all. That's why we urge anyone who sees or hears of a crime-related activity to
contact the police immediately and to demand that the police make a report and
take a declaration. This is the best way you can contribute in the fight
against crime. In some cases it is possible that someone can make an anonymous
declaration, but only the examining judge is entitled to allow such a
declaration and then only after an appeal of the prosecutor has been made to
him. So it is important to emphasize that no police officer can promise or
guarantee that a citizen's name will not be mentioned when a formal report is
filed. The police officer can only give this guarantee when no report is
made.
During the first 30 hours of an arrest, it is the assistant public
prosecutor, a high ranking police officer, who makes decisions, according to
law, regarding the detained person. After 30 hours all the decisions are made
by the prosecutor. According to our code of criminal procedure, an arrested
person may be released while awaiting trial, only if the investigation shows
that he will not pose a threat to the community or leave the island. If the
perpetuator is convicted he will be sent to prison.
In our next brochure we
will tell you about the rights of the victim.Top
Support of the community
We urge everyone to help us inform the community about our
organization and our work. Send us the subjects you want to be discussed in
future brochures. For now you can send these to: Robert Sanchez a/o Charlie
Anthony at V.B.O. Department of our local government. You can also call them at
717-5330 extension 515. In our future brochures we will announce changes
regarding this address.
Those who want to sponsor our brochures are also
welcome to contact one of the members of our Management team.
Thank you very
much for helping in "Knowing your police !"
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