National Security Minister Peter Bunting has indicated that the Government would likely be dismantling the oversight committee for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Strategic Review Committee which was established in 2007 to look at reforming the force.

Bunting told The Gleaner yesterday that there were plans to bring a submission to Parliament to look at whether it was worth keeping the committee in place. The national security minister also disclosed that one solution being examined is to have other oversight bodies in the JCF take on the task.

"There is a plethora of oversight bodies for the JCF and it is becoming overwhelming. There is the Police Service Commission, there is INDECOM (Independent Commission of Investigations), and a whole series of other oversight bodies," he said.

"After five years, the residuals can be monitored by oversight bodies in the JCF."

Last week, during a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's North Street offices in Kingston, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Christopher Zacca, said the PSOJ was "extremely concerned that such a critical process has been put in limbo".

Zacca said he was particularly concerned also that there has been "no fair communication" from the Government to the members who sit on the committee as to what their status is.

"It's an example in our view of Government not having respect for institutions and for processes that grew out of years and years of advocacy by the various civil-society groups, and it's something that is a worrying trend in my view," Zacca fumed.

Efforts to get a comment from Delroy Chuck, opposition spokesman on national security, yesterday proved unsuccessful.

nedburn.thaffe@gleanerjm.com