SLIGOVILLE, St Catherine – The independent body to investigate police abuses against citizens will be established by yearend, according to the national security minister, Derrick Smith.

The minister gave this assurance while opening the new Sligoville Police Station on Wednesday.

According to Smith, the public had lost confidence in the system where the police investigate themselves, particularly in reports of shootings.

He said the new Jamaica Labour Party government, which came to power in September, recognised that there was conflict between the police and citizens and so was moving ‘rapidly’ to put in place the independent body to investigate police abuses.

Said Smith: “People are frustrated, they are fed up and people are loosing confidence in the investigative process (of the police). We hear it from time to time (that) the situation will be investigated (but) we do not hear the results of these investigations. We are aware that people have lost faith in the police investigating the police. So I am hoping that within the shortest possible time to have this independent body established to accelerate the rate of investigations of these reports.”

In the meantime, Smith, who pointed out that 165 police stations islandwide were in bad condition, said $400 million was provided to construct and repair these facilities during this financial year.

However, he said there was a major problem as $220 million had already been budgeted for construction of a new police station in Falmouth, the Trelawny capital.

Smith promised that under a programme to be announced, all police stations would be repaired and brought up to acceptable standard within five years. But he said the government was looking at ways to find funding partners for the project.

Acting Police Commissioner Jevene Bent thanked the Chinese government for funding the construction of the new Sligoville station at a cost of $222 million.

She said that “opening the new station was one small step in righting the ills of the dilapidated station”, which was 70 years old.

In the meantime, the new police chief urged officers assigned to Sligoville to act in a proactive manner, apprehend praedial thieves and develop excellent relations with the community.