Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

It was tough growing up as a youngster in the farming district of Murray Mountains, St. Ann, where Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas lived during childhood, with his mother and eight siblings, in a poor home, where sometimes the next was meal was uncertain.

"My mother played the role of a father; she fathered me. There were days when we came home, there were no prepared meals; we had to wait until my mother did a little job, picking coffee or something else. Then when she collected her pay, she would come and prepare our next meal," he recounts.

Although the family was poor, Thomas says his mother ensured that they received a good education, learned to share and had respect for people. The tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled his childhood days.

Unlike what is happening in communities today, Thomas says, back then, the community in which he grew up reached out to him and ensured that he grew up like a gentleman.

"I remember when I was going to sit the Common Entrance Examination, the people in the district dressed up their children in new uniforms. My mother did not have any money to buy new clothes for me. She had a church dress made out of linen, which she cut and made me a lovely shirt that I wore proudly to the examination," Thomas tells The Sunday Gleaner. He stressed that it is experiences like these that moulded him into what he is today.

Astounding announcement

Since he announced that he would be retiring on Tuesday, October 31, a number of policemen and women have cried openly. "It was an astounding announcement. It moved me," is how Senior Superintendent Carlton Wilson said he felt at the time.

Commissioner Thomas describes himself as the voice for the voiceless men and women of the police force. He introduced an open-door policy, where rank-and-file policemen and women could meet with him in the mornings, between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m., Mondays to Fridays.

"Normally, they would have to make an appointment to see the commissioner and sometimes this could be weeks. I listened and tried to help with their problems. I also offered counselling and advice where necessary," Thomas related.

During his tenure the commissioner also amended the regulations governing make-up, jewellery and hairstyles. Now women police can wear make-up, earrings and braid their hair.

"It is an honour to serve the people of my country. I was taught to respect everybody in life and look for the cracks developing in individuals and try and help them," says Thomas.