An acting Police Commissioner finally.
After a vacancy for some time at the top of the Police Service, notification to appoint Deputy Commissioner McDonald Jacobs to act as Commissioner of Police will be debated in Parliament on Friday afternoon.
The notification regarding Jacobs was submitted by the Police Service Commission recently to President Paula-Mae Weekes
The motion on Parliament’s agenda today stated that the commission is empowered to appoint persons to hold or act in the office of Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Under Section 123 (3) of the Constitution the commission shall submit to the President a list of the names of the persons nominated for appointment to the office of Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner.
According to procedure, Weekes submitted the notification for Jacobs to Parliament.
Notification was also submitted by the President in respect of the nomination of Earla Christopher for appointment to act in the Office of Deputy Commissioner of Police. Christopher held the rank of acting DCP (Operations)
A third notification was submitted in respect of the nomination of Wendell Williams, for appointment to act in the Office of Deputy Commissioner of Police.Williams held the rank of Assistant Commissioner (Central Intelligence).
The notifications are subject to affirmative resolution of the House of Representatives; and can be passed by simple majority of Government votes alone.
The notifications seek to appoint persons to the posts of acting CoP and deputies after issues concerning selection of a CoP under the last commission headed by Bliss Seepersad.
The contract of former commissioner Gary Griffith ended on August 17.
He was appointed to act by the last commission. A merit list was done by that commission but withdrawn by Seepersad.
That commission collapsed in September following members’ disagreement on sending Griffith on administrative leave .
An October court judgment ruled that Griffith’s acting appointment was null and void.
Jacobs was due to act as CoP from October 15 but that was also halted by the judgment.
Without a Police Service Commission in place to appoint a CoP and no acting CoP either, Jacobs, a deputy CoP, was named as Accounting Officer for the TTPS and led the force since then.
A new commission, headed by retired justice Judith Jones, was appointed and a new Legal Notice for selection of a CoP and deputy CoP was done by Government to address issues cited in the judgment. The commission will have to issue ads to recruit nominees for the top posts.
With an acting commissioner anticipated, yesterday National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds told Guardian Media, “The commission has heard the cries of the nation and understood the urgency of what is needed and acted in the spirit of urgency–they did what they had to do and the notifications have come from the President.”
He added: “These recent developments were not planned, choreographed or anticipated. They were the outcome of circumstances and it created the void– a gap— in the Office of Commissioner.”
“I welcome the urgency with which the Police Service Commission treated with the matters and it’s that kind of response from the commission which augers very well for the future of the TTPS. There is much work to be done for which the commission has direct and singular responsibility.”
“I want to compliment Mr Jacobs and the entire TTPS for standing stoutly in the gap that occurred,” he also said
Opposition UNC MP Rudy Indarsingh at 6 pm yesterday said UNC had to caucus on the matter and “Our views will play out on the floor in the debate ahead.”
Other UNC MPs also couldn’t say how the party would move on the notifications.
Jacobs said recently he’d consider applying for the CoP post.