SEPARATION OF POWERS IN THE POLICE

There is a fundamental difference between the police and military in the chain of command  in this country. 

The army consists of soldiers led by superior officers. The duties of the soldier in war time are to operate within the rules of the system, obey orders and seek out and engage with the enemy. The soldier needs personal initiative but is largely a follower.

The role of the policeman is totally different with the constitutional duty to exercise the power of arrest. The Constitution gives this power to every police man and woman. There are those who would see this as meaning that the police officer is accountable to no one.  

The policeman operates out of the police station and may be required to be deployed as part of a police team or an individual officer.

There is a separation of powers between the Commissioner and every policeman. They are all policemen. The Commissioner has a constitutional role as set down by parliament. 

The boundaries of his powers are set also by the judiciary. It is the responsibility of a new Commissioner to seek out his role upon appointment. His powers are largely administrative not operational. Criminal matters are not administrative.

The separation of powers is the police way to operate. It makes a police man or woman different to soldiers in the military. This has to be taken into account in any future joint service training.

The police are compromised by corruption, violence, bribery and false arrest. The powers of each policeman are compromised by such conduct. There is always the Internal Investigations Branch to make police men and women accountable and subject to discipline.

We need still to be reminded of the comment to the media by a senior oficer that there is a lack of governance in the lower ranks. 

Police men and women can spend much of their time out of the police station, out of sight of the Police Station Commander and involved in corrupt activities.

Corruption in the force is an administrative matter and dealt with by officers appointed to investigate. There appear to be checks and balances in the constabulary that may or may not operate from time to time.

The problems with the Fraud Squad seem to be degenerating into a personality dispute between two men who will not back down. Perhaps they need to shake hands and go fishing for the weekend.