Over two years ago, in May 2015 the Home Department suggested that Investigation Officers of the Goa Police be given inputs on the probe process to improve their detecting techniques. Two years later, acting on the observations of the Home Department, Goa Police in July 2017, issued an order for a training programme for Police Sub Inspectors, Assistant Sub Inspectors and Head constables. But because of the election code of conduct, the training programme has not yet begun.
The two year wait in acting on the Home Department note could prove costly to persons who have been accused of crimes and also to the police. The recommendation for training came after an acquittal of a murder accused, as Home Department, when srcutinising the file to determine whether to appeal the acquittal in a higher court found that the investigation had been shoddily conducted and there were mistakes in the process done by Calangute Police. The fact is that, a shoddy investigation can lead to an innocent person being accused of a crime, a mistake that should never happen, or to an acquittal of a criminal, which again should not happen.
The job of the police, after a crime is committed, is to identify who committed it so as to prosecute the person and allow justice to prevail. To achieve that the police officer investigating the crime must be trained to pick up clues and evidence at the crime scene, sift through the enormous amount of evidence, forensic and other, that is gathered and after thorough questioning, be able to catch the criminal. It may not always happen in this manner, which is why training of the personnel and expertise in investigation are important.
The criminal justice system depends on thorough and accurate police investigations, that also follow all the rules, procedures and guidelines, so as to not give the defence team the opportunity to use procedural or legal loopholes to win acquittals.
While the Calangute case may have prompted Home Department to suggest the training programme to investigation officers, the police disinclination to accurate criminal investigation can be borne by the fact that the Court had to intervene and direct it to file a case of murder in the death of social activist Bismarque Dias and investigate it accordingly. Police had determined the death to be due to drowning and closed the case, it was only the determination of Dias’ family and friends that led to the court decision on it being treated as a murder investigation.
The case of Dias was taken to this stage because his family and friends stood by him, even after his death, but there could possibly be so many other cases that are not taken to their logical conclusion primarily due to police inefficiency.
Recently the Council for Social Justice and Peace and the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, rejected the police theory that Francis Pereira, who has been arrested, could be responsible for the desecration of crosses and graves. The fact finding team of the two organisations said that the police had demonstrated their incompetence in being able to investigate the desecration of crosses, and demanded that a Special Investigation Team be formed to probe the case under the supervision of the High Court or the Supreme Court.
While no charge sheet has yet been filed in the case of desecrations of religious symbols, these two cases – Dias and desecration – lend urgency to the need for training of the police in investigation techniques. And not to forget that till date, neither Goa nor the family of Scarlett Keeling, know who killed her. That’s a blot on the police investigation that has got international publicity. The police need to add some expertise to their investigation techniques, before more acquittals lead to a diminishing reputation.
