Since being formed six years ago, Bermuda?s Police Complaints Authority has reported to the UN, hosted an international conference and is now expanding its powers with amendments to its governing legislation.

Retiring chairperson Arlene Brock outlined for the successes the PCA has garnered for Bermuda?s fledgling area of civilian oversight.

A lawyer and human rights activist, Ms Brock is finishing up as chairperson this summer, having taken up the post in September, 2002. Her work with the PCA did not gain momentum until January, 2003.

?But I have been working there effectively for the past two-and-a-half years,? she said. ?It has been a busy time. When I started there were 120 outstanding cases dating back to the PCA?s beginning in 1999. But we halved the number of cases by the end of last month.

?Because the board is voluntary, we don?t meet very often and so we couldn?t progress as swiftly as we wanted.?

During the summer, Charmaine Smith, a former Crown counsel with the Department of Public Prosecutions, will be taking over as chairwoman of the organisation.

Ms Brock will remain in the civilian oversight arena when she is sworn in as Bermuda?s first Ombudsman on July 6.

Ms Brock highlighted the PCA?s accomplishments under her watch.

?The May, 2003 report was tabled in Parliament this month,? she said. ?However, we did not produce a May, 2004 report because of two separate intervening circumstances.

?First in November, 2004 Bermuda hosted the Conference on Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, so we didn?t have the time to compile to the report in time for the deadline,? she said, adding that she was keen to include many of the findings and suggestions from the conference in the newest report.

?Also, the UN?s Committee Against Torture had a hand in holding up the report.

?The UK government is obliged to report every four years to the UN Committee Against Torture. The time to report came around again in November, 2004.?

The British are responsible for reporting on the conditions in its overseas territories (BOTs) and insuring all the BOTs meet international standards on human rights.

?The UK had said in its previous report to the UN that Bermuda was setting up the PCA.?

And the UN, which took an interest in the situation in Bermuda, in response requested that British government provide a report on the disposition of all complaints to Bermuda?s PCA.

?That meant we had to go through every report since 1999 to record the nature of every complaint, because we didn?t have all the required information clearly recorded. And we only had six weeks to do that in. While we were doing this we were also planning the conference.

If the PCA was to compile the report for May, 2004, it would have left out all the information which was submitted to the UN, Ms Brock said. ?So we changed the report to run up to the year end at December, 2004.

?So we haven?t had a report which covers a 12-month period. The first one covered January to May, 2003. And the second covers January, 2003 to December, 2004,? she said.

But Ms Brock said she is confident that the next PCA report would stretch a 12-month period.

Ms Brock moved on to speak about the amendments, which are expected to go before the House of Assembly during this summer?s session.

?Partially as a result of the conference and partially due to a need to stretch the PCA?s influence, a series of amendments to the 1998 Police Complaints Authority Act will enhance the PCA?s authority,? she said.

The amendments will enhance the authority?s capacity to do its work and influence the decisions of the Police.

?A primary aim of the legislation will be to introduce a statutory report time, guaranteeing the public a time limit in which their complaints must be investigated by the PCA.?

Ms Brock said that this will insure the PCA?s accountability to the public.

?People do not always want to go to the Police station to make complaints,? she added.

Stepping in to help, the Parliamentary Registrar General donated two unused poll boxes to the PCA. Within months individuals will be able to drop complaints in the boxes which will be found at the Flatts and Somerset Bridge Post Offices.

The amendments would also affect the nature of the complaints and how they are disposed of, she said, with the PCA hopefully gaining more authority to affect the discipline decisions made by the Police Service.

In its annual report, the PCA outlineed its current procedures and highlighted the challenges of fulfilling its responsibility to the public. In particular, although the PCA may recommend disciplinary actions for a Police officer, the board cannot ensure that an officer is actually disciplined by the Police Service.

Once the PCA has reviewed a complaint and filed its disciplinary recommendations with the Police, the process rests wholly with the Police Service. The Police then conduct their own internal disciplinary proceedings. Held away from any civilian oversight, such hearings may determine that an officer needs not be disciplined, even if this finding contradicts a PCA disciplinary recommendation.

Though their relationship has been a little bumpy, the Police and the PCA have worked together to create a new numbering system which the two bodies share as they investigate complaints. The new system allows both Police and the PCA to identify the day and month a complaint was filed, as well as the year?s total number of complaints.

But with pressure from the UN?s anti-torture committee, the PCA had to streamline its system further.

?We had to overhaul all our files and categorise every type of complaint,? Ms Brock said. ?Though tedious, this overview allowed the PCA to be more precise in identifying trends in complaints.

?So, in order to more proactive in the future, the PCA will be in a better position picking out trends.?

Focusing on decreasing the complaints made about Police officers, Ms Brock said she wanted to caution all individuals stopped by officers.

?People make their own situation worse if they react inappropriately when Police question them,? she said. ?We?d love to get that message out there. If you are stopped, please give the officers the required information.

?But if you curse and swear at the officers or make snide comments you will make the situation worse for yourself. We see this as a trend. I don?t know if it a result of resistance to authority or a residual distrust of Police officers, But it seems some people think that the Police are out to get them.?