Lawyer Jeffrey Elkinson is the new chairman of the Police Complaints Authority.Governor George Fergusson announced the news yesterday at Government House, where he said the authority’s previously large backlog of unresolved complaints was now “negligible”.Mr Fergusson said he was delighted that Mr Elkinson, a director/partner of Conyers Dill and Pearman law firm, had agreed to lead the independent body, which has been without a chairman since early 2012.“An effective police complaints system is a centrally important mechanism in any open society,” said the Governor. “It helps maintain public confidence in the police, which is good for both the police service itself and for wider public society.“Mr Elkinson, with his exceptional experience in mediation and in handling complaints in other professional contexts, is extremely well placed to lead the authority.”Mr Elkinson said the PCA played a crucial role in ensuring the rule of law was followed and provided the public with somewhere to go if they felt aggrieved by a police officer’s behaviour.“This is a very important role that I was appointed to by the Governor,” he said. “I’m very honoured. I’m looking forward to the role.”The Royal Gazette reported a year ago that the authority had 24 unresolved cases, with some of them dating back to 2008.We revealed that aggrieved members of the public, including an overseas visitor to Bermuda, had filed complaints with the authority and never received an acknowledgment after months of waiting.Asked about the backlog of complaints yesterday, Mr Fergusson said: “As I understand it, it’s negligible.”He asked William Francis, who has been the authority’s acting chairman since last year when lawyer Anthony Whaley resigned, to clarify.Mr Francis said: “There may be one or two [unresolved complaints] but no more than that.”Mr Francis said everyone who complained received a letter informing them of the outcome when the case was resolved. “They are not kept in the dark,” he insisted.The PCA is required in law to report on the “exercise of its functions” each year and the Public Safety Minister has to table the report in Parliament.The last report tabled was for 2010, which noted that 540 complaints about the conduct of police officers had been filed since 2000.Mr Elkinson pledged that, under his watch, the authority would produce its reports in a timely fashion.Asked if the authority would share the outcome of complaints with the public, he said the Police Complaints Authority Act 1998 “requires confidentiality”.“As regards actual proceedings, the Act makes it very clear that they are confidential,” he said.Public Safety Minister Michael Dunkley said when he was in Opposition he was always looking for the report.He added: “Now we have a new chairman appointed today, I look forward to receiving the report on time and it will be tabled in the House, but obviously confidentiality [regarding cases] must be adhered to.”The other board members alongside Mr Elkinson and Mr Francis are Andrew Bermingham, Barrett Dill, Winston Esdaille and Michelle Simmons.