Is a police officer always on duty?

• Author: Delroy Chuck
• Position: B.Sc.(U.W.I), M.A., B.C.L.(Oxon.), Attorney-at-Law, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
• Pages: 117-121

CASE NOTES

IS A POLICE OFFICER ALWAYS ON DUTY?

R.

v.

O 'Connor

and Woods

(Court of Appeal, Jamaica, 1992)

DELROY CHUCK*

Police forces have come under intense scrutiny and adverse criticism

in recent times. There have been allegations of police brutality,

corruption, neglect, excessive use of force, abuse of power, and

professional incompetence. Have police officers acted responsibly and

with restraint in the exercise of the powers and the discharge of their

duties? What are the duties of the members of the force?

It seems that the duties are even more onerous than previously

thought. In examining the role and duties of the force, the recent

decision of R. v. O'Connor and Woods1 is instructive. The case

involves the wilful neglect of duty by police officers who at the time

were not on station duty. The complainant, during an attack by

burglars, called the police station five times. He spoke with the

officer on duty who intimated, on each occasion, that help was on its

way. The appellants were the only force drivers on the compound at

the time, but who were not on station duty. The appellant Woods had

just completed 24 hours continuous duty and was in the station

barracks sleeping. The appellant O'Connor

had

just completed part of

his assignment at Alcoa, a bauxite plant in Jamaica, and was resting

before returning to that assigned duty at Alcoa. The station guard,

Cpl. Thorpe, when the calls came in, called to both of them to assist

him, but neither of them responded. The failure to respond was

undoubtedly a serious neglect on the part of the police and certainly,

in my opinion, reflects the inability of the police to deal with

B.Sc.(U.W.I), M.A., B.C.L.(Oxon.), Attorney-at-Law, Senior Lecturer

in Law, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. The substance of

this note is extracted from an address on The Role of the Police' delivered

to the Jamaica Police Federation on the 27th May, 1992.

1 RMCA 11/92, unreported. Delivered by the Court of Appeal in Jamaica on

the 18th May, 1992..