Editorial | A failure beyond ACP Welsh

Gary Welsh has emerged as this burlesque figure to be lampooned for his presumption of seraphic hallowedness during his dizzyingly short stint as head of the police’s Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB).

This, clearly, will raise questions about the assistant commissioner’s centredness and judgement, but the more compelling question – the quick reversal of the Rev Dr Welsh’s appointment notwithstanding – has to be about the wisdom of those who appointed him in the first place. For, while he may have seemed a caricature, Dr Welsh sounded like what he is – a born-again, evangelical Christian pastor and a bishop of Jamaica’s New Testament Church of God.

Moreover, it is questionable whether the infraction that ultimately caused Dr Welsh’s demise, his remarks about how the police force would deal with traffic offenders, was an original sin of his sole contemplation and design. That seems unlikely. The greater likelihood is that ACP Welsh spoke out of turn.

Launched out of a merger of the police Motorised Patrol and Traffic and Highway divisions, the PSTEB was the first major initiative of the then still-new police chief, Antony Anderson, with the aim of taking back control of public spaces and ensuring greater compliance with the Road Traffic Act. The mobility of police officers on motorcycles would, we were told, give the sense of law-enforcement presence in the capital.

The initiative hasn’t achieved its mission. Nor does it appear on track to reversing old bad habits. Vendors continue to expropriate sidewalks from pedestrians, and street malls hog roadways from vehicles. It remains common during peak-hour traffic for route taxis and buses to overtake long lines of vehicles by entering the lanes of, and intimidating, oncoming traffic. Often, too, they seek passage on the ‘wrong’ sides of roads, regularly driving on to sidewalks and racing along soft shoulders. The recalcitrants seem to have little or no fear of being prosecuted.

We don’t know if General Anderson shares our analysis and whether it contributed to his reassignment of PSTEB’s first head, Senior Superintendent Calvin Allen, in favour of ACP Welsh, who, on the face of it, is qualified for the job. Dr Welsh has had long service on the constabulary, including a stint as head of the police training college. A closer inspection, however, casts doubts.

For a long time, Dr Welsh was head of the police chaplaincy, and then he moved on to be in charge of the Community Safety and Security Branch, where his focus was largely on civic engagement, including one project to get churches, mostly evangelicals, to preach love to police officers and in communities. It is hardly surprising, then, that last week, rather than prosecuting for reckless and dangerous driving a motorist caught on video doing 360-degree spins on a busy avenue, Dr Welsh had the offender issue a public apology and promise to engage in road-safety programmes. The officer also disclosed that he had pardoned 140 motorists over a three-day period.

ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY

Dr Welsh faced public backlash, including being called, with his boss, General Anderson, by the Cabinet to be reminded of the Government’s ‘zero-tolerance’ policy with regard to road discipline and consistency in the enforcement of traffic laws.

Given his earlier blunder, the revered gentleman may have been attempting to appear firm and tough in announcing a policy that would place undue burden on persons who are given traffic tickets, including the prospect of those with outstanding tickets and warrants having to spend weekends in jail. Some of the ideas were not only outrageous but would have been patently illegal.

It seems, however, given the clarity of the plan and Dr Welsh’s timeline for its implementation, including the use of the Police Officers’ Club as a “customer service centre”, that it was a project conjured not only in his head but rather from a discussion with the leadership of the constabulary. General Anderson should clarify that issue and say what mandate he has given to the new head of PSTEB, another man with a PhD, Kevin Blake.

There is at least one lesson that seems to have been learned by the police chief from this debacle. That is, what is worse than formulating policy is its implementation.