We need this police commissioner

by Garth A. Rattray

There was fulminant ire in the letter to the editor, 'How competent is DPP's office?' by 'Angry Police Sergeant', published in The Gleaner on Monday, February 20, 2012. The sergeant bemoaned the apparent rapidity and arbitrariness with which a policewoman (a detective) was arrested on reasonable suspicion of perverting the course of justice and uttering false documents.

After further investigation, she was subsequently summarily exonerated and received an apology (in person) from the commissioner of police, Owen Ellington, and the assistant commissioner of police, Justin Felice (head of the Anti-Corruption Branch).

The Angry Police Sergeant chided the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for prosecuting suspected police personnel, "without careful consideration of the facts of the case". (The DPP responded strongly in a letter.) He took the opportunity to swipe at the commissioner of police by concluding, "The current commissioner of police appears to have nothing but utter contempt for the Constitution, the judiciary and the principles of justice."

Commish a tough cookie

Soon after Commissioner of Police Ellington formally took office on April 5, 2010, plaintiff undertones began slowly swirling around various police divisions. Civilians reported to me hearing comments like, "Make sure seh you take the statement correct because this commissioner nah ramp fi charge you if suppn go wrong." Citizens confessed feeling safer because of the awareness of proper procedure and the demand for accountability that his no-nonsense reputation engendered.

However, it seemed unlikely to me that a commissioner of police would undertake malevolent and unreasonable campaigns against his subordinates, so I did a bit of checking and found that he never investigates or prosecutes police.

The Inspectorate of Constabulary receives complaints of misconduct or abuse and the Anti-Corruption Branch receives complaints of corruption. Files from them are dispatched to the commissioner, who instructs that they be sent to the DPP. Only if police are caught red-handed are they immediately arrested (like any other citizen).

In spite of all the publicity - although there are cases pending as far back as 2005 in various stages of completion, a representative synopsis of the situation can be gleaned from the 2011 figures. Analysing the 295 reported cases of professional misconduct and 202 reported cases of criminal conduct in that year, of the ones in which investigations have been completed, only five ended up in the courts on criminal charges and two ended up in the courts on departmental charges.

The indictment process involves complaints, investigations, reports, two departments and an existing system. Surely, it is a far cry from demonstrating the "... utter contempt for the Constitution, the judiciary and the principles of justice" that the commissioner is purported to be guilty of.

Calm down, detractors

Although the vast majority of the constabulary is composed of honest, hard-working, sacrificial and progressive individuals, there are some that remain steeped in trying to get away with putting out less than is expected of them, those that are unnecessarily aggressive, and others that are less than honest. And so, as expected, there is a faction within the constabulary that wants to see the back of the current commissioner.

His intimate knowledge of all aspects of the constabulary, strident position on discipline, honesty, efficiency and accountability are welcomed by the citizenry and many within the police force, but an undetermined number of cops see him as overly strict.

They erroneously believed that a change in (political) administration would oust the commissioner and lift the 'burden' of his office off their backs. That having failed, some have turned to vigorously stoking the smouldering embers of dissent within the force.

I urge his detractors to pause and take an objective look at the police commissioner for the sake of our national security and the force. From my perspective, the force needs leaders like him.

Next week: Building trust in the force.

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