Letter of the Day | Police commissioner must act now

THE EDITOR, Madam:

T he Gleaner editor is right (1/1/2020). Police Commissioner Antony Anderson has been given an opportunity, and it will not last for long. It has been given him by the action of Police Federation Chairman Sergeant Patrae Rowe, in publishing sharp criticisms of top officers in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The question is: what has held back the hand of the commissioner from removing the corrupt top cops that Sergeant Rowe speaks of? I can think of three reasons. The first we can rule out – incompetence and cowardice in the commissioner himself. The major general exhibits not only intelligence and likableness, but comes to the job with a record of accomplishment in the Jamaica Defence Force.

The second reason is the power of the cops themselves: power to reveal nasty things about politicians, to use criminal links to worsen a bad situation, to obstruct and disrupt in other ways. Whatever the case may be, such power can and must be castrated. Without reformed and vibrant policing at all levels, not even the combined efforts of the private sector, civil society, the Peace Management Initiative, and every government agency can succeed in putting a stop to a decades-long cycle of violence, crime and murder.

The third reason is the likeliest. It comes to me from a very reliable source. It is the blockage erected by a politician very high up in the very sphere of crime prevention in which the commissioner operates. If this is indeed the hot button, it is time for some initiative by the commissioner, some opening up of information to the public on a regular basis; above all, some direct action to remove those top police who are the problem.

Major General Anderson is yet to demonstrate in the constabulary the qualities that took him to the top of the military. He must do so and speak out, bowing out if the support he may require from Prime Minister Holness is not forthcoming. He would not be the first to so depart. After two years in the office, no further delay by the commissioner is acceptable. The JCF transformation has been too long postponed. A new year is opening.

Horace Levy