The Police Service Social and Welfare Association is seeking clarity from Government on how its new three dimensional leadership structure in the National Security Ministry will interact with the daily operations of the Police Service.
“While Government’s three-member National Security team is welcome, the new configuration needs to tread carefully concerning potential erosion of the role of the Police Commissioner and Police Service Commission (PSC),” association head Anand Ramesar said yesterday.
He spoke following the appointment of Glenda Jennings-Smith, specialising in police matters, to the National Security Ministry leadership. She joins Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, Minister in the Ministry of National Security, to work alongside Minister Edmund Dillon.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said on Tuesday despite criticism when Jennings-Smith offered herself as a People’s National Movement (PNM) candidate, having recently retired from the Police Service, the PNM had seen her police background as an opportunity to offer the Police Service, management and guidance from the political directorate and executive in a way the service has not had for quite some time.
Yesterday, Ramesar said: “I want to congratulate Mrs Jennings-Smith on her appointment. She’s indeed a very hard working person, very passionate about policing. He said it was good to say there was inclusion on the national security team of someone on the government side with police experience which hasn’t been present for a while.
“However,” Ramesar added, “one of my concerns is the role of the Police Service in relation to the three-dimensional approach articulated by the Prime Minister and how it (approach) relates to police operations. Those operations should be led by the Commissioner of Police while Government should be driving policy.”
Calling for clarity on how the three-dimensional structure will interact in the daily operations of the Police Service, Ramesar added:
“For all intents and purposes the Police Service should not only be protected from political interference but also every effort should be made to ensure that not even a perception of political interference is created.
“We are uplifted by seeing efforts to improve public safety and the National Security Ministry. However, I wish to suggest clarity on the issue be given to the Police Service as priority.
“We will call on Government to carry out its promise to ensure a manpower audit for the service. The experiences of the association have demonstrated this is necessary. We see a lot of changes taking place in National Security but the vehicle for national security is the Police Service and its functionality needs to be overhauled and efforts made to improve its performance in order to successfully reduce crime.”
Additionally, he added, the association was also concerned about the role of the PSC. “It seems that in small amounts, the relevance of the PSC is being eroded though they haven’t been performing to justify their retention,” he said.