Senior Reporter
anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
With days left to go before the one-year contract of Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher comes to an end, the Police Service Commission (PolSC) has opened applications for the position.
The advertisement appeared in the daily newspaper yesterday with a headline that read ‘Job Opportunity, Commissioner of Police’—and provided details of the position, including the job summary which listed the qualifications and experience being sought.
Under the heading, Guide for Applicants, the eligibility requirements as to what was needed when making an application were outlined.
The closing date for applications, which must be submitted online only, was listed as 4 pm on May 3.
Harewood-Christopher took up the reins as the acting head of the TTPS on December 7, 2022, after former acting top cop McDonald Jacob proceeded on 35 days of vacation.
She was officially sworn in on February 2, 2023, becoming the country’s first female to be appointed in the position.
Harewood-Christopher was 59 years at the time of her appointment and turned 60 on May 15, 2023—which is when she was legally required to resign from duty.
Efforts to reach Harewood-Christopher to find out if she would be reapplying or how she felt were all futile.
Asked yesterday if he was considering tossing his hat back into the ring and would be applying, former commissioner Gary Griffith stated, “No, definitely not. Been there, done that.”
He claimed it would make no sense to reapply, as there was a “tainted, incompetent Police Service Commission that would have selected someone who didn’t even come in the top 15 in 2018, by qualified international experts who select commissioners around the world...somebody who got 30 per cent less”.
Defending Harewood-Christopher, whom he said did not impose herself on the nation but was forced on the population by an incompetent PolSC, Griffith hinted of political interference and again called for the removal of the PolSC.
Former acting commissioner McDonald Jacob had no comment on the application and on Harewood-Christopher’s tenure.
Yesterday, senior officers speculated about the call for applicants.
One officer said, “Government has the option to give her the additional year if they wish, and if they are fully satisfied with her performance...they could easily do that.”
But he questioned, “Why did they do it now?”
A second officer found the move was “odd”.