Lucius Thomas (left), who retired as Commissioner of Police on October 31, is greeted with jokes from senior colleagues (from left) Superintendent Wilford Gayle, DSP Clinton Laing, DSP Robert White and wife Superintendent Coulbourne White at the Police Officers' Club in St. Andrew last month. Mr. Thomas could soon be joined by some of his colleagues in retirement. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

A proposal to offer early retirement to a significant number of senior police officers may be back on the agenda, shortly.

National Security Minister Derrick Smith expects this to be one of several items addressed in the report of a strategic review team examining the work of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

The strategic review body, chaired by Dr. Herbert Thompson, president of Northern Caribbean University, is expected to submit its report early next year and Mr. Smith is anxiously awaiting its recommendations.

"Fundamental change" is what the minister is expecting from the report. This, he contends, should include a system for early retirement for those members of the constabulary who have served upwards of thirty years "and whose productivity is not up to the required standard".

The early retirement route had been among a string of measures recommended from as far back as 2001 to improve the efficiency of the police force and, in some instances, root out corruption in the force.

Big promises

That measure would have seen scores of senior officers with only a few years left on the job, being let go early, but it was never implemented. Mr. Smith is now vowing to pursue this course of action, even if it is not recommended by the strategic review team.

"In the unlikely event that this is not one of the recommendations coming out of the strategic review team, surely, we will have to look at it. If they don't, we will!" he promises.