It is crucial to build and improve the capability and
capacity of police investigation in dealing with the problem of death in police
custody, said Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham)
secretary-general Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria.
He said having an Independent Police Complaints and
Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) would be good but that alone would not resolve
the situation.
“Police brutality is used to extract information because
if you just bring a guy in and want him to talk, chances are he won't tell you
the truth.
“So you have to trap the person through other evidence.
We have very good forensics now but there has to be more investigative
policing. The police have to do their homework. They have to improve the
quality of their investigations and their ability to ask questions.
“And there is a need for more personnel because currently
less than 25% of the police are involved in investigative policing.
“The rest are doing escort service and other protection
work,” said Dr Denison, who was a member of the Royal Police Commission in 2005
that looked into enhancing the operation and management of the force and came
up with the recommendation to set up the IPCMC.
He pointed out that in a number of developed countries
when there was a murder, a team including a psychologist, detectives and other
experts would go down to study the case.
“You can't have just the everyday policemen solve
repetitive crime in an area. You need trained professionals in their field of
expertise,” he added.
There has been an outcry of late when people being
detained in police lockups have died. Last month, there were three deaths in
police custody within 11 days.
Groups have renewed calls to set up the IPCMC to address
the problem of deaths in custody.
Dr Denison said the culture of “hammering suspects” to
extract information had to change because it violated human rights.
“Police stations should be the safest place any person
can go to, even if he was a criminal but public perception now is that it is
not safe.”
Dr Denison also said the standard operation procedure
(SOP) was central to addressing the issue.
“What is the SOP when you arrest a suspect? When do you
question him? Do you put him in a cell and is he there alone?”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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