Civilian oversight of law enforcement is the subject of a four-day conference to be hosted by Bermuda's Police Complaints Authority next week.

Public Safety Minister Randolph Horton told the House of Assembly on Friday that the key decision makers from the Caribbean and other Overseas Territories would be represented at the conference which begins on Friday.

The conference is being co-sponsored by Government, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Mr. Horton noted that the Commonwealth Secretariat had a goal of establishing "some form of civilian oversight in each Commonwealth country by the end of this decade" and the FCO's Good Government Fund's aim was to maintain "security and stability and the promotion of transparent and accountable government in the Overseas Territories.

"Recounting the history of the PCA, the Minister said that the body had been evolving since its first incarnation as the Police Complaints Review Board after the 1979 Pitt Commission Report.

Mr. Horton said that the Authority "grew out of the realities of our past when members of the public felt that the police were more a force than a service."

It was first recommended by the Wooding Commission which looked into the causes of the riots in 1968, but the then Government did not follow the recommendation.

And when the Review Board came into being ten years later "it apparently devolved into ineffectiveness and insignificance because it was a non-statutory body with no teeth. It seemed that the public still did not trust the system," the Minister said.

The Police Complaints Authority Act, brought to the House of Assembly by then Public Safety Minister Maxwell Burgess required the Police to report all complaints to the Authority for review. But that, too, was found to be "ineffectual" because the PCA could not recommend specific discipline and the Bermuda Police did not have to abide by its recommendations.

"This process rendered redundant the work of the members of the Police Complaints Authority who volunteer considerable effort to this very important and time-consuming work."

Mr. Horton expressed confidence in the commitment of the Police service hierarchy to promoting "the highest standards of conduct and performance".

He said its leaders understood the role of independent civilian oversight, but amendments to the Act had been delayed as "stakeholders have tried to gain more insight into what civilian oversight should entail."

The Minister continued: "If the key driver for political change and government in the 20th century was democratisation, perhaps the key driver for the dawn of this new Century is transparency.

"The concepts and institutions for civilian oversight are rapidly emerging constituents of good governance."

He added that Bermuda was the only Overseas Territory with a Police Complaints Authority and the conference may lead other countries to start similar institutions.

"It was the interest of one of the other Overseas Territories in Bermuda's legislation that provided the genesis of the idea of holding the Conference on Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement here in Bermuda," he said.

Mr. Horton said Bermuda would benefit from the opportunity to "understand the evolution of the concept of civilian oversight and to explore which of the various models should best inform our thinking as we set about the enactment of amendments designed to make the Police Complaints Authority Act 1998 more effective."