DPP recommends fraud, larceny charges against SSP Wayne Cameron

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has recommended that Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Wayne Cameron be charged with fraudulent conversion and larceny as a servant.

DPP Claudette Thompson told The Gleaner on Wednesday evening that she made the recommendation. But she declined to disclose details of the allegations, saying it was for the police to outline.

The matter was submitted to the DPP by the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Constabulary Financial Unit, which operates under the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch.

SSP Cameron is the police officer at the centre of an ongoing legal dispute involving Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake, who last year issued a controversial directive for his removal as chairman of the Police Officers’ Association (POA).

Contacted on Wednesday, Cameron said he was unaware of the DPP’s recommendation.

“I am not aware of that. I can’t comment on something that I don’t know about,” he said. When asked whether he was aware of any police investigation, Cameron added, “I was never written to formally about any police investigation. I just learnt by the way.”

"I am surprised to be hearing all of this on radio," he said referring to a report from Radio Jamaica, which first reported the development.

Cameron said he received a letter from the JCF on Tuesday, telling him he should report to law enforcement today. "I wrote him back and told him the reasons why I couldn't," he told The Gleaner.

The development comes against the backdrop of a legal battle over Cameron’s position as POA chairman.

On Monday, The Gleaner reported that Commissioner Blake had filed a notice of appeal challenging a Supreme Court ruling that blocked his directive to remove Cameron from the post.

The appeal, filed on January 23, contests Justice Ann-Marie Nembhard’s January 9 decision granting Cameron an interim injunction to halt the implementation of the directive until a judicial review of the directive was settled.

Nembhard had granted Cameron permission to seek judicial review of Blake’s September 8, 2025 directive.

That injunction restrains the commissioner from convening or directing any meeting of the POA for the purpose of removing Cameron as chairman or appointing an interim replacement, pending the outcome of the judicial review.

Justice Nembhard ruled that Cameron had demonstrated arguable grounds for judicial review with a realistic prospect of success, finding that the commissioner may have exceeded his authority and failed to observe principles of natural justice. She noted that Cameron had a procedural right to be informed of the concerns and given an opportunity to respond.

However, Commissioner Blake is arguing that the judge erred in law and fact and misapplied the balance of convenience in granting the injunction.

“The learned judge erred in concluding that the respondent demonstrated arguable grounds for judicial review with a realistic prospect of success, in circumstances where the applicable law and evidence did not support such a conclusion,” Blake stated in his notice of appeal.

Blake’s September 2025 directive cited what he described as “glaring contradictions and irregularities” in the POA’s unaudited accounts and the failure to hold an Annual General Meeting since 2022. He has maintained that the action was taken to safeguard funds contributed by more than 350 senior officers and was not politically motivated.

Cameron has argued that the commissioner unlawfully interfered in the internal governance of an incorporated body and characterised the move as political victimisation linked to a grievance Cameron filed with the Office of the Services Commissions.

The POA represents over 350 senior officers, above the rank of inspector up to deputy commissioner, and is funded by salary deductions.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.