Role of police clear in moving convicts

 I WOULD like to put the record straight in response to the issue raised by Gulf Provincial Commander (The National, Feb 4) titled,  “Shuttling convicts job of CS” by Gulf PPC Silas Wayagure.

I don’t like the idea of going into public media to argue administrative issues where aggravating party can easily construct a dialogue with another party to rectify minor issues like the one been raised by our good police commander. 

I appreciate your concerns but let us also mindful of the boundaries of responsibilities as required by our operating legislations and or that matter the orders stipulated in the document released by the court.

I write this to rectify the following statement, and quote “our (police) role goes as far as arresting the suspects, charging them and handing them over to court to be dealt with and after they are convicted, it is their (CIS) responsibility (to deliver them to jail),” Wayagure said.

Firstly, let us see where the police responsibility lies and where CS responsibility comes in when dealing with convicts freshly sentenced by our Courts. 

As far as I know, as a police officer dealing with remands in district courts, those offenders charged under summary offence and criminal code, are matters under the police prosecutions, thus is the responsibility for the police to get them to court houses and return them to their holding cell, or otherwise.

The responsibility of taking them to courts goes as far as the conviction. That means, any remand is found guilty, convicted and sentenced by the Court, the police has the last task to move the newly convicted person to the nearest correctional institution as ordered by the trial court, also stipulated by the court warrant itself – the Commissioner of Police or the Officer in Charge of Police to deliver the convicted detainee sentenced to so and so period of time, into the custody of the Commanding Officer of the Correctional Institution.

Until and when the convict enters the jail, the police have their tasks completed. The Commanding officer of the prison will not and will never be at any one time send his officers to the police cells and grab the newly sentenced convicts, which still under police responsibility. 

Furthermore, there is a process of delivering the new convicts already in place and police know (including the Gulf PPC) that has to be followed.

Secondly, Correctional Service on the other end comes in when the convicts have additional cases to be dealt with in the courts apart from the usual National Court remands which CS already has responsibility on them. 

For that matter, the learned Gulf Provincial Commander has the last duty to move the convicts to Bomana Correctional Institution. If the transportation is a challenge, then simply pick up the phone and call Police HQ or better still Bomana CS Commanding Officer and sort out the transportation issues. 

This is an administrative matter that can be addressed without going to the media and portrait different pictures.

Meanwhile, as far as I am concern CS hierarchy is already looking into longer term solution of such issues by building a prison facility in Kerema very soon. 

They already succeeded in land negotiation and already shown their presence recently at the location during December 2015.

Polisman, Via email