Supervision of police powers of arrest and detention is an important means by which the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 protects the rights of suspects and curbs arbitrary police powers and reduces decongestion of the courts and detention centres. Magistrates are by virtue of section 34 (1-3) and judges of the High court by virtue of section 34(4) are entrusted with these supervisory powers of visiting and inspecting detention centres in order to checkmate police excesses.
At a recent workshop organised by Juritrust Centre for Socio Legal Research and Documentation for Magistrates in Abuja, Mr Bayo Akinlade who as coordinator of a group of lawyers offering pro bono services to suspects in detention regularly participates in such visits shared his views on problems encountered in the implementation of section 34 and practical solutions. Click here for the full version of the presentation.
Excerpts –
Are sanctions provided for erring police officers?
“In checkmating the actions and conduct of police officers, the ACJA provides for sanctions to be meted out to police officer(s) found in violation. Section 34(5) states thus:- “Where there is default by an officer in charge of a police station or official in-charge of an agency authorised to make arrest to comply with the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, the default shall be treated as a misconduct and shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant Police Regulation under the Police Act, or pursuant to any other disciplinary procedure prescribed by any provision regulating the conduct of the officer or official of the agency.””
The Logistics Challenge
“Regardless of the processes and procedures designed to allow for effective administration of the criminal justice system via the production of the ACJA, 2015, there exist certain constraints which are discovered to be common across states in terms of actual implementation. To name a few – funding, logistics, reporting, personal interests and workload of the Magistrates- are common constraints to the effective execution of the ACJA objectives. However, there subsists in the ACJA, working solutions to some of these common constraints and the Lagos State model which works in terms of implementation.
Who should file Reports and on What?
Taking into account, Section 33 of the ACJA which stipulates the processes of reporting the persons arrested without warrants and the reporting chain from the police officer to the Magistrate and then the Administration and Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC); reporting plays a major role in the administration of criminal justice. The practice of reporting is not limited to only the police officers but also the Magistrates who have to document their activities and experiences for record and reference purposes. Despite it being very important, the whole process has been found to be cumbersome and time consuming. However, as a way to reduce the constraint of the whole process, reporting forms with specifics to note and account for are developed by the Magistrates, volunteers and funding organisations. Section 33 also reveals persons to whom such reports can be made available to upon request and the action to be taken when such reports are not made.
States can adopt bespoke Models
For Magistrates who among other work responsibilities, play active roles in terms of visiting detention centres, the introduction of District Solicitors by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution of Lagos, as a case management system is said to reduce the Magistrates’ workloads with about 3000 cases vetted in the last one year. On the constraint of personal interest, Magistrates with passion for criminal litigation are being encouraged to take on such cases rather than the random selection of any Magistrate. Under logistics, issue of administration and staffing, the ACJA attempts to make arrangement for Secretariat in Section 471 to aid in the efficient running of the Committee’s affairs. Conversely, there is the Duty Solicitors Network which has taken it upon itself to assist Magistrates with the logistic needs by providing motor vehicles and stationaries. In terms of funding, Section 472 (1) (a-c) of the ACJA provides for the establishment of a fund for the ACJMC, budgetary allocations through the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, sourcing of funds from other private, public or international sources etc.
Partnership is a winning strategy
Lastly to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the achievement of ACJA objectives particularly on the issue of detention, it is very pertinent that there be a working partnership with the Police. One of such is the ongoing partnership in Lagos State with the Police Duty Solicitors Scheme (PDSS). This has proven to be effective, reducing quite noticeably the number of indefinite and unlawful detention cases.