Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator

A number of sector leaders have come out strongly in support of newly appointed Commissioner of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin's, resolve to arrest the problem of corruption in the force, and to lock down some police stations in an attempt to redeploy resources more efficiently.

President of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Mark Myers, hailed the commissioner's pledge to target corruption in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) as one of his priority areas, noting that the problem must be tackled forthwith.

At the same time, president of the Jamaican Bar Association (JBA), John Leiba, lauded the new approach of Admiral Lewin, but stressed that the success of his efforts would rely heavily on the availability of resources.

Chairman of Jamaicans For Justice, Dr. Carolyn Gomes, said the commissioner's recommendation to transform the JCF receives full support from her organisation.

In a Gleaner interview yesterday, Mr. Myers said the commissioner should be given the latitude to make management decisions in terms of "who is or who is not capable to do the job".

New powers

He called for an amendment to regulations governing the employment of JCF personnel to give the new commissioner powers to fire corrupt cops and non-performers after due process.

On the question of increasing efficiency, Mr. Myers agreed with the commissioner's proposal to remove some police personnel from manning desks at stations and redeploying them on the roads, and in communities to boost the police presence.

"Community policing in my mind is not the building of police stations in every community, it is being out there on the roads and developing the relationship with the communities," he said.

"His utterances so far I am very pleased with, I know he is going to get full support from the JCC and the business community, as well as the political directorate."

Commenting on the need for significant financing of the new initiatives, Mr. Leiba said "the country is going to have to find the resources to alleviate some of the pressures of the kids hustling, protection money that people pay and 'bandoolooism'.

A serious challenge

The JBA president said the commissioner might be faced with a serious challenge as he moves to weed out corruption and enforce discipline in the JCF.

"He is going to have to face the issue of maybe some policemen even laying down arms when he decides to institute discipline. It's not going to be the easiest thing to get the commitment from the police if they feel that their colleagues are being harassed."

Meanwhile, Dr. Gomes said her organisation welcomed the act by the new commissioner to sign the new anti-corruption policy for the JCF.

She described the plan to prioritise the cleaning up of the police force as a move in the right direction.

For his part, Monsignor Richard Albert said the few police officers involved in corruption should be singled out despite their rank and fired in the public interest.

He said the country has its best chance in a long time with the new commissioner to make a meaningful change. However, he said the entire society has to provide the necessary backing in cleaning up the force and bringing about reforms in the JCF.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com