Choose police chief from JCF

By Garth A. Rattray

Once again, I am deeply concerned and troubled at the mention of selecting a police commissioner from outside the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). To do so is to indict every member of the constabulary, the national security ministry, and all past and present members of the Police Service Commission of Jamaica that selects senior ranking officers for promotion. Widening the scope of choice to include candidates from overseas brings utter disgrace on our entire country.

Are those advocating finding a commissioner of police from outside the JCF saying that throughout the years, every single member of the JCF is either corrupt or incompetent? Are they saying that all those many years of selection, of scrutiny, of having responsibility for the lives of all their subordinates and for the lives of the citizens of Jamaica were fraudulent?

Are they saying that those many years of risking their lives for their country, stressing their families, of sleepless nights, of personal sacrifice, of training and upgrading and honing their skills in multiple and adjunct fields in policing are all for naught? Are they saying that all the money spent by the Government to ensure that our police officers are good at what they do is totally wasted?

Are they, by extension, saying that the Ministry of National Security (under whose portfolio the JCF falls) has been, and is currently, either complicit or incredibly incompetent and guilty of dereliction of duty in holding on to known or suspected dirty cops within the upper echelons of the JCF?

Do they hold outsiders, and possibly foreigners, in such high esteem that they perceive them as extremely gifted, virtual geniuses, to be able to simply step into the top job of the JCF and function efficiently? Are they totally disregarding all the intense training and experience needed as a policeman or policewoman to head the constabulary?

Selective patriotism

Interestingly, amid the current push for us to buy Jamaican (buy what we grow and what we produce even if it costs a little more), some people are now suggesting that we should include people outside Jamaica (importing a foreigner) when searching for a replacement commissioner of police. Is this selective patriotism?

Are they disrespecting the cumulative centuries of experience and decades of training embodied in the following senior ranks?

First tier, the deputy commissioner ranks:

Glenmore Hinds (acting commissioner of police and responsible for the entire operations portfolio).

Carl Williams (in charge of crime).

Clifford Blake (administration).

Delworth Heath (Inspectorate of Constabulary).

James Golding (brought over from the Special Constabulary and now in charge of the newly established border and vital infrastructure security).

Second tier, the assistant commissioner ranks:

Warren Clarke (in charge of Area 1)

Ealan Powell (Area 2)

Derrick Knight (Area 3)

George Quallo (Area 4)

Novelette Grant (Area 5)

Carlton Wilson (IOC)

Paul Ferguson (IOC)

Devon Watkis (Crime Investigation Bureau)

Kevin Blake (National Intelligence Bureau)

Selvin Hay (Anti-Corruption Branch)

Gervis Taylor (Major Organised Crime Anti-corruption Task Force)

Winroy Budhoo (Mobile Reserve)

Bishop Gary Welch (in charge of the National Police College of Jamaica)

Leon Rose (Services Branch)

And two very recent promotions to the rank of ACP, whose names I won't mention.

If an outsider is considered as the replacement commissioner of police, it will convert the rank (a position that subordinates must work towards and qualify for) into a post (a position that anyone can be chosen to fill); deprive the country of the expert services of well-trained individuals; demoralise the entire constabulary; leave them with nothing to aspire towards; encourage individuals to use the constabulary solely as a revenue source (by whatever means); and, therefore, render our citizenry vulnerable to the entrenchment of crime.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.