Sykes says bodyguard policy shift ill-conceived

Tanesha Mundle, Staff Reporter 

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes says the decision by the Government to revamp the Protective Services Division of the police force and to redeploy trained cops to the front line of crime-fighting is ill-conceived.

The policy shift was announced on Wednesday by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang in a statement in the House of Representatives.

READ: Police bodyguards to be redeployed for crime fight

Chang said the Public Officials Protection System Policy (POPS) would provide an objective, assessment-based framework for providing close protection support to public officials.

Noting that 315 of the division's 500 cops were assigned to protect public officials, Chang charged that this was an untenable situation and did not serve the best interests of the police, public officials, or the wider Jamaican society.

He argued that those police personnel should be more focused on fighting crime as he observed that threats against public officials in Jamaica were low.

But, speaking at a virtual event put on by the judiciary today, Sykes raised concerns that the policy may negatively affect judges.

He explained that, under the policy, judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, who will be in category one, will continue to be protected by police bodyguards, while in category two, parish court judges will be provided with security from private security companies.  

No provision, he said, has been made for master judges. 

Sykes said it is his understanding that parish judges, most of whom are women who travel long distances, will not receive automatic protection from the police because of the presumption that they are low risk. 

“We have grave concerns about that because in a situation where the executive says that it is taking active steps to deal with organised crime, many of the crimes committed by persons involved in organised criminal activities are tried in the parish court.

“So, in that context, where there is a bid… to cripple and to dismantle over 200 gangs operating in Jamaica, the decision has been taken to remove automatic security from the JCF [Jamaica Constabulary Force] to these judges, most of whom are female who are travelling long hours. So quite a remarkable decision there,” he said. 

Further, Sykes said base on the policy, the permanent secretary in the national security ministry will decide whether security will be offered to parish judges based on an analysis that will be done by the police.

“Now, the document does not say that if the JCF recommends security that the permanent secretary has to accept, so the permanent secretary has a discretion regardless of what the JCF recommends,” the chief judge said. 

Additionally, Sykes said he is also concerned about the recommendation for private security companies to offer protection to parish judge.

He noted that several firms are often litigants and that this decision has the potential to undermine the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of the process. 

He suggested a revision of the policy especially as it regards the protection of judges at the lower court.

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