Derrick's demand

Ministry official claimed Smith wanted to clean JCF

Within days of being appointed Minister of National Security, Derrick Smith reportedly made it clear that he had a dim view of the leadership of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and wanted to make sweeping changes.

Smith's views were reportedly told to the United States (US) Embassy in Kingston by a senior official in his ministry during a September 19, 2007 meeting.

According to a US Embassy diplomatic cable acquired by The Gleaner through WikiLeaks, Smith wanted to see the back of several senior members of the JCF.

And it appears that the new minister of national security was being supported by members of the Police Service Commission (PSC).

But embassy officials noted that this would not be an easy task for members of the PSC, which is the legal entity responsible for the hiring, disciplining, and firing of senior police officers.

"Commission board members have indicated on numerous occasions that they hoped to retire in the public interest senior members of the JCF … ," the cable said.

"However, recent court rulings have declared that retirement in the public interest is beyond the mandate of the PSC, thus effectively tying its hands. How Minister Smith now plans to remove corrupt and ineffective (senior members of the force) seems unclear," added the cable.

The embassy officials opined that money would cause most corrupt police personnel to want to stay.

"Given the lucrative parallel income stream that (some) senior members enjoy, it appears highly unlikely that they would opt to leave voluntarily," the cable said.

The cable named one senior policeman who has since retired from the force as among those both Smith and the PSC wanted out.

But there was no evidence that he was involved in any corrupt activity when he retired.

Last night Smith said he would not have any specific comments to make on information obtained through WikiLeaks.

However, when pressed, he said he has nothing to do with corrupt policemen at any level.

Necessary housecleaning

With numerous public opinion polls showing the police force among the least trusted organisations in the country, there was general agreement that a housecleaning was necessary when the Bruce Golding administration came to power in 2007.

The US Embassy noted that the Portia Simpson Miller administration had come to a similar conclusion.

In its last months in office, the previous government began a strategic review of the JCF, the third such review to occur in the previous five years. It appears that Golding's new minister of national security will continue this review," the cable said.

It added: "Even if the review is as comprehensive and honest as promised, it remains to be seen whether the Golding Government will have the muscle to push forward the legislative changes required to enable the imposition of a rational personnel system, with adequate provisions to discipline and remove under performing and corrupt cops from the force."