Call for accountability in CISOCA records breach

While Police Commissioner Kevin Blake has taken full responsibility for the mismanagement of sensitive CISOCA case files and issued a public apology, questions remain about accountability within the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The failure to properly secure these records, which exposed highly personal information of victims, has raised serious concerns. Those directly responsible should face consequences as the incident highlights critical lapses in protocol that must be addressed to restore public trust in the police force.

Well done, Dr Blake, but …

Jamaica Gleaner/29 Jan 2025

WITH REGARD to the CISOCA fiasco, Kevin Blake, the commissioner of police, deserves commendation on two counts. First, as head of the constabulary, he took full responsibility, embracing the philosophy that the buck stops with the man at the helm.

Next, he fulsomely apologised to the ‘clients’ of CISOCA (Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse).

What Dr Blake didn’t do, though, was name the culprit(s) who caused sensitive information about victims of sexual and child abuse to be compromised, and, just as importantly, say how they have been sanctioned.

That must be his next step, as part of the process of accountability in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and his efforts to rebuild trust in the institution.

As this newspaper noted previously, CISOCA is a sensitive agency that is part investigative arm and part social support institution. Its members tend to deal with ‘clients’ during very vulnerable periods, sometimes carrying a sense of guilt and shame even though they are the ones who are victims of the alleged crimes. They often have to reveal intimate details about their lives which they would prefer to keep secret, except they have to be revealed in courts of law.

In that respect, it is expected that the protocols surrounding the handling of CISOCA case files would be more robust than in most other arms of the constabulary.

DOCUMENTS RETRIEVED

It was exceedingly surprising, therefore, when, earlier this month, this newspaper’s reporters stumbled on old files, and apparently complaints’ diaries, at the former CISOCA headquarters at Ruthven Road, St Andrew. It had been vacated more than six months earlier.

The building had quickly become derelict. At the time of our reporters’ visit, it was seemingly being squatted on as an itinerant shelter for some of the city’s homeless, as well as a public toilet of sorts.

Obviously, mischief-makers could have caused great harm with those files. The Gleaner hopes no one has.

Happily, Dr Blake reported that the documents have been retrieved. It would be useful to know if all were accounted for.

According to the police, during CISOCA’S transition to new headquarters, all of its records could not be accommodated at its new offices.

Some, the police said, were “securely locked away in a temporary storage facility, which was later vandalised”. Presumably, that facility was the old headquarters.

“This, colleagues, cannot be described as anything less than gross negligence on our part as an organisation, especially at a time like now when our transformation is at such an advanced stage and moving at such a rapid pace,” the commissioner was quoted as saying in the constabulary’s report of the incident.

He added: “For that, as the person with command responsibility over the JCF, I apologise not only to the clients of CISOCA, but also to Jamaica.”

As we noted, as the man in charge, Dr Blake has appropriately taken responsibility for any failure by the institution.

WATERMARK DEVELOPMENT

But what happened at CISOCA wasn’t a personal failing of Dr Blake, who has been the police chief for less than a year.

Someone, or several persons, including senior officers, no doubt, failed to follow JCF’S protocols and systems. Indeed, it is inexplicable to this newspaper that such sensitive files could, under any circumstances, have been left at premises that weren’t fully secured. Worse, the police seem to have only known about the vandalisation of the premises after it was raised as a concern by the media.

Some of CISOCA’S clients could have been re-traumatised, or perhaps faced worse.

That is the backdrop against which we believe that those directly responsible should be held to account, and seen to face sanctions for their egregious errors.

Dr Blake, in this newspaper’s view, misinterprets even sharp criticism of the police’s handling of the CISOCA files as giving way to “false narratives and open(ing) the floodgate of unfair character slandering of the JCF, by describing us as lacking common sense, and the understanding of our obligations and responsibilities”.

The JCF, as the commissioner is aware, is a vital institution to the society. In doing a difficult job, the police are called to a higher level of accountability than other bodies.

The more appropriate prisms, therefore, through which to view critiques and criticisms, even when they are discomfiting, are as aides in helping to reach constantly for higher standards. Which is the context in which we embrace Dr Blake’s apology, especially against the backdrop of the JCF’S acknowledgement that, in the police force, “acknowledging failure is no small feat, especially in a profession where admitting error can often be perceived as a sign of weakness”.

This, therefore, is a watermark development for the JCF’S new leader, for which he deserves full commendation.

Indeed, as Dr Blake said: “We have to regain the confidence of the people and provide the necessary reassurance through our actions, and not only in words.”

For feedback: contact the Editorial Department at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.