00:00Former Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith says rebuilding public trust in law enforcement requires more than requests for cooperation.
00:08It demands meaningful reform and accountability within the police service.
00:12He was responding to statements by Minister of Homeland Security, Roger Alexander, who urged citizens to provide information to assist
00:19crime-fighting efforts.
00:21Griffith argues that public confidence depends on systems that allow citizens to share information safely.
00:27This has to do with making sure that there are systems to allow the public to be able to give
00:33information to the police without fear of reprisal, without fear of retaliation.
00:37And those are the things that existed just a few years ago that caused public confidence to be 60%.
00:42We had the online reporting to prevent persons having to come to a station to make a report.
00:46We had the police app.
00:48He says accountability within the ranks is equally critical.
00:51The second element has to do with putting systems in place to measure the performance of police officers and to
00:57make them accountable, such as things like polygraph testing, drug testing, making sure that if police officers break the law,
01:04that they can be targeted.
01:05Griffith also raised the concerns about current policing practices, pointing to what he describes as a shift away from community.
01:11What we are seeing now is situations that exist where police officers, they will see situations of police officers involved
01:19in possible extra-racial killing.
01:21And you're hearing the authorities saying, well, I don't see any reason that disciplinary action should take place.
01:27So methods are exact.
01:28And then if you look at the nation's rules, a few years ago, what we were seeing was police officers
01:33being there to serve, to help.
01:34Now what we are seeing is roadblock after roadblock after roadblock and police officers trying to find ways to give
01:39tickets to persons.
01:40He maintains that restoring confidence in the police service will require sustained reform, greater transparency and consistent accountability.
01:49Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
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