MPs warned about cop service

 By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK 
ASSISTANT Police Commissioner Crimes Victor Isouve yesterday warned politicians not to engage detectives for operations in their electorates with electorate funds without the approval of the police commissioner.
Isouve said it was unlawful for politicians to directly fund detectives with money from  the provincial and district support improvement programme to conduct witch-hunts on their rival politicians and bureaucrats.
“They must send their request to the Office of the Police Commissioner,” he said.
“The commissioner will send it to me.
“I will assess the cases that these politicians have requested to be investigated and how long the investigations will take. I will then do the costing and will resend the cases back to the commissioner for approval.
“The commissioner will then write to those governors or MPs and advise them the required amount.  Those politicians will have to put the required funds from their PSIP/DSIP into the Commissioner’s Trust Account.”
Isouve said that once the required funds were deposited into the trust account, the directors of those crime directorates assigned to investigate the requested cases would submit a request to him for approval.
“After my approval is granted, the detectives can access the funds from the Commissioner’s Trust Accounts and go on operation in those politicians’ electorates.
“We do not want these governors or MPs to directly fund individual detectives.
“It must be done at the commissioner’s office for transparent purposes.”
Isouve said that it had become a practice where politicians were abusing the process and directly funded investigators to take them to their electorates.
“Such practices have become controversial investigations which have not gone down well with the public.”