Police gets ID badge but for what purpose?

The public was treated to the usual PR exercise by the new Commissioner of Police, Gerard Waye Hive, on the state broadcasting media last week, being filmed giving to senior police officers their identity badge. In the short extract of his speech broadcast by SBC television, we heard the Police Commissioner instructing his officers to carry their badge at all times. For what purpose, however, we did not hear the police commissioner say? Who should a police officer identify himself or herself to - the members of the public? Why should they and when should they do so?

After the creation of the one-party state the police force of Seychelles  acted without regard for the rights of the individuals. They arrested and detained Seychellois citizens without charge or trial on the orders of politicians. The police spent the entire 15 years of the dictatorship protecting the high echelons of the one-party state government against the people.

Under the constitution of the Third Republic (the present Constitution) the police’s mission is diametrically different than it was under the one-party state.   Under the new constitution the people are free to do anything that the law does not forbid. Under the same constitution the police can do only what the law permits it to do. Yet so far the police have behaved mostly as if we were still under the dictatorship of the one-party state, aided and abated by the judges appointed to do the bidding of Mr Rene.

For example, the new Constitution protects the individual’s rights to 1) liberty and security of the person; 2) to privacy; 3) to freedom of movement among other rights. These rights bring the citizen in direct contact with the police on a daily basis.

When the police arrest someone, the police are depriving that citizen of his or her liberty.

The citizen is always presumed innocent until proven guilty, according to the Constitution. In this instance the police must follow the clear and unambiguous procedures laid down by the Constitution – such as informing the person of his or her right to remain silent; provide access to a lawyer; charge the person and bring him or her in front of a judge with 24 hours or release the person. At all times the police must provide protection to the citizen. But individuals in police custody are known to have been physically abused. Are we now to expect the officer to flash his ID badge before assaulting a detained person?

The right to privacy of the citizen is sacrosanct. Despite this the police have ignored and continue to ignore this important fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution.  The police take the view that they can stop and search a citizen without being compelled to show cause. In many instances involving the special police unit (SPU), they have in the processed violently assaulted their victims. Are we now going to get the SPU officer in total darkness, dressed in battle fatigue carrying an AK-47, suddenly flashing his ID before beating the person up?

Freedom of movement is another fundamental right. This right precludes the police from setting up road blocks and other obstacles on public highways and roads without explanation. The public highways and roads are the preserve of the citizen. Once again, the citizen in our democracy is free to do anything that the law does not forbid. The police can only do what the law allows them to do. The police have an obligation not to hinder the citizen’s freedom of movement unnecessarily or without justification. Are we now going to get the traffic police person in an unmarked vehicle (a hired vehicle) flashing his or her ID badge while you drive by so that you will know he or she is an officer of the law and wants you to stop?

Despite all those concerns, the Commissioner of Police should be praised for this initiative. It is a step in the right direction. We will urge him, however, to restore the standard of the old colonial uniform which had a visible number that could identify a police officer from a distance. The badge too should show the number of the police officer distinctly so that he or she can be effectively recognised when they are not in uniform, in case of a complaint.

The Commissioner in conjunction with the office of the Ombudsman should also establish an independent police complaints commission where the citizen can have his or her complaint lodged and independently investigated. Once again, the tenets of our democracy – as defined by the Seychellois Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms – are that the citizen is free to do anything that the law does not forbid him or her to do.

The police, on the other hand, can only do what the law allows them to do. The police exist to provide security for the citizen. These are the tenets of the police force of Seychelles under the Constitution. Are our police officers being taught this important concept which justifies their existence in our democratic society and why they are required to identify themselves and justify their actions at all times? 

March 9, 2007
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles