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Police officers' fault
Police officers' fault
Ken Chaplin
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
TWO matters last week had tremendous impact on the national matrix. These were the appointment of a new commissioner of police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, and a brazen attempt by two Jamaica Labour Party junior ministers of state in the government to victimise and intimidate electors prior to the recent local government elections. People are free to vote for whichever party they wish and should not be threatened or blackmailed.
The appointment of Lewin, an outsider, by the Public Service Commission to the highest rank in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, won overwhelming support from the population, including some police officers. There have only been two army officers who have been appointed commissioner before. They were Colonel R T "Rocky" Michelin (1953-1958) and Colonel T N MacMillan (1993-1996), both of whom brought respectability and credibility to the force. Of course, army officers have served in the officer corps of the force.
One of them, AG Langdon, was commissioner from 1964 to 1970 and did a good job. No politician could push him around. He was already in the force when he was appointed. Others like Neville Ernandez, Owen Stephenson and "Soapy" Day rose to the ranks of deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner and senior superintendent respectively.
I have been closely connected with the force for 30 years and I can unequivocally state that it is the fault of the officers generally why outsiders like MacMillan and Lewin have been brought in as commissioners. There are officers who are academically brilliant, holding first and second degrees, but they stay away from the front line. Once, a commissioner toured the corporate area to see how many senior officers were on street duty. He found none. The truth is that while some of them are qualified academically, they lack leadership skills, especially fairness in dealing with some of the other officers, which is an essential trait for a commissioner to have. Many of them are corrupt in several areas, including administrative practices.
For example, one superintendent who had illicit drug connections, as almost everyone in the force knew, was said to be under investigation but was still promoted to the post of senior superintendent. Commissioners had the habit of recommending their friends for promotion but did not act firmly against transgressors of human rights abuses. In the past, commissioners, after public protests against police abuse, announced that the matter was under investigation, but did not make public the result of the investigation.
If an officer criticises his colleagues, he is blacklisted. One such officer took an examination for promotion. He came in the top six, but was told that he was not in line for promotion.
There was not much confidence in the leadership of the force over the years. Lewin, who takes over as commissioner on December 17, will have a difficult task and I do not see him having a merry Christmas. If he gets the co-operation of other officers I am sure he can turn the force around. He will have to act fairly and decisively in dealing with his officers, which would be a change in the leadership posture. People should not expect immediate improvement in the undesirable characteristics of the force or a sudden reduction in crime, especially murders. It is going to take time.
One officer whom people inside and outside the force are watching to take over after Lewin retires is 46-year-old Assistant Commissioner Carl Williams who is not only bright, having obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in two years and is now pursuing his doctorate, but has demonstrated good leadership qualities, and above all honesty. His knowledge of police operations and administration is first class. As former head of the Narcotics Division I once wrote a column on him, and he received a flood of encomiums from the United States security community.
Within the police force, the number of policemen killed this year is frightening. The public from all classes must line up solidly behind its members, either by feeding information on crime to the force, or by financing and expanding its operational capacity, especially mobility. In the latter respect, the private sector has a special responsibility for more direct contribution. Any further erosion of the safety and security of the people will certainly undermine social stability, making it difficult to achieve the kind of economic growth we need to improve the standard of living of the poor. Attacking crime and protecting and defending members of the force is the obligation of all law-abiding citizens from inner-city communities to the posh suburban areas.
Threat of victimisation
One expected that the period of victimisation and intimidation of electors by the People's National Party government in the years of the Patterson administration was over with the election of the Jamaica Labour Party administration. It may be recalled that when P J Patterson was prime minister he warned shortly before the 2003 local government elections that if people did not vote for his party they would "suck salt through a wooden spoon" because they must remember that he would still be prime minister after the election. Another top-ranking PNP official said that if the party did not win the parish council election there was no certainty that they would receive enough money. Those two threats became reality in succeeding years between 2003 and when the PNP was booted out of office. Then, as far as I can recall, the election watchdog group Citizens Action For Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) and Danville Walker, director of elections, remained silent to the threats of victimisation.
Shortly before the recent local government elections, two junior ministers - Everald Warmington and Bobby Montague - issued threats of what would happen if Jamaica Labour Party people did not vote for the party. CAFFE wanted them to resign. This country will never move forward if there is victimisation by one government or the other, a position which Prime Minister Bruce Golding often affirmed in his general election campaign. It is political tribalism that has held this country back for at least 50 years.
What bothers me is the partisan approach by CAFFE and Mr Walker. I cannot recall them calling on Patterson to resign. The importance of what they said may weaken its impact on the country because of the appearance of partisanship.
Ken Chaplin
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
TWO matters last week had tremendous impact on the national matrix. These were the appointment of a new commissioner of police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, and a brazen attempt by two Jamaica Labour Party junior ministers of state in the government to victimise and intimidate electors prior to the recent local government elections. People are free to vote for whichever party they wish and should not be threatened or blackmailed.
The appointment of Lewin, an outsider, by the Public Service Commission to the highest rank in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, won overwhelming support from the population, including some police officers. There have only been two army officers who have been appointed commissioner before. They were Colonel R T "Rocky" Michelin (1953-1958) and Colonel T N MacMillan (1993-1996), both of whom brought respectability and credibility to the force. Of course, army officers have served in the officer corps of the force.
One of them, AG Langdon, was commissioner from 1964 to 1970 and did a good job. No politician could push him around. He was already in the force when he was appointed. Others like Neville Ernandez, Owen Stephenson and "Soapy" Day rose to the ranks of deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner and senior superintendent respectively.
I have been closely connected with the force for 30 years and I can unequivocally state that it is the fault of the officers generally why outsiders like MacMillan and Lewin have been brought in as commissioners. There are officers who are academically brilliant, holding first and second degrees, but they stay away from the front line. Once, a commissioner toured the corporate area to see how many senior officers were on street duty. He found none. The truth is that while some of them are qualified academically, they lack leadership skills, especially fairness in dealing with some of the other officers, which is an essential trait for a commissioner to have. Many of them are corrupt in several areas, including administrative practices.
For example, one superintendent who had illicit drug connections, as almost everyone in the force knew, was said to be under investigation but was still promoted to the post of senior superintendent. Commissioners had the habit of recommending their friends for promotion but did not act firmly against transgressors of human rights abuses. In the past, commissioners, after public protests against police abuse, announced that the matter was under investigation, but did not make public the result of the investigation.
If an officer criticises his colleagues, he is blacklisted. One such officer took an examination for promotion. He came in the top six, but was told that he was not in line for promotion.
There was not much confidence in the leadership of the force over the years. Lewin, who takes over as commissioner on December 17, will have a difficult task and I do not see him having a merry Christmas. If he gets the co-operation of other officers I am sure he can turn the force around. He will have to act fairly and decisively in dealing with his officers, which would be a change in the leadership posture. People should not expect immediate improvement in the undesirable characteristics of the force or a sudden reduction in crime, especially murders. It is going to take time.
One officer whom people inside and outside the force are watching to take over after Lewin retires is 46-year-old Assistant Commissioner Carl Williams who is not only bright, having obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in two years and is now pursuing his doctorate, but has demonstrated good leadership qualities, and above all honesty. His knowledge of police operations and administration is first class. As former head of the Narcotics Division I once wrote a column on him, and he received a flood of encomiums from the United States security community.
Within the police force, the number of policemen killed this year is frightening. The public from all classes must line up solidly behind its members, either by feeding information on crime to the force, or by financing and expanding its operational capacity, especially mobility. In the latter respect, the private sector has a special responsibility for more direct contribution. Any further erosion of the safety and security of the people will certainly undermine social stability, making it difficult to achieve the kind of economic growth we need to improve the standard of living of the poor. Attacking crime and protecting and defending members of the force is the obligation of all law-abiding citizens from inner-city communities to the posh suburban areas.
Threat of victimisation
One expected that the period of victimisation and intimidation of electors by the People's National Party government in the years of the Patterson administration was over with the election of the Jamaica Labour Party administration. It may be recalled that when P J Patterson was prime minister he warned shortly before the 2003 local government elections that if people did not vote for his party they would "suck salt through a wooden spoon" because they must remember that he would still be prime minister after the election. Another top-ranking PNP official said that if the party did not win the parish council election there was no certainty that they would receive enough money. Those two threats became reality in succeeding years between 2003 and when the PNP was booted out of office. Then, as far as I can recall, the election watchdog group Citizens Action For Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) and Danville Walker, director of elections, remained silent to the threats of victimisation.
Shortly before the recent local government elections, two junior ministers - Everald Warmington and Bobby Montague - issued threats of what would happen if Jamaica Labour Party people did not vote for the party. CAFFE wanted them to resign. This country will never move forward if there is victimisation by one government or the other, a position which Prime Minister Bruce Golding often affirmed in his general election campaign. It is political tribalism that has held this country back for at least 50 years.
What bothers me is the partisan approach by CAFFE and Mr Walker. I cannot recall them calling on Patterson to resign. The importance of what they said may weaken its impact on the country because of the appearance of partisanship.
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