St Ann's Dwight Powell transferred to commissioner's office as acting ACP

Senior Superintendent Dwight Powell, who headed the St Ann Police Division for the past four years, has been transferred to the Office of the Commissioner of Police, where he will be in charge of administration. He will also act as an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). 

Powell, who took command of St Ann on 25 January 2021, handed over the reins to Deputy Superintendent Rohan Elliott on 2 April 2025. Elliott will now serve as Acting Senior Superintendent in charge of the parish.

At the send-off for Powell, several dignitaries were in attendance, including Radcliffe and Norma Walters, Custos emeritus and emerita of St Ann; Dr Ransford Davidson, President of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce; and Dr Carl Archer, President of the North Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, along with rank-and-file officers from the St Ann Division.

Powell departs at a time when St Ann is experiencing a decline in serious crimes.

The parish ended 2024 with a 34.5 per cent reduction in serious crimes compared to 2023.

The 51 murders recorded in the parish last year marked the lowest figure in the division in several years.

From 1 January to April 2, there have been 12 murders in the parish—representing a 45 per cent drop from the 22 reported during the same period last year.

“It has been a tremendous experience; I managed to forge greater partnerships between the police and the citizenry,” Powell told The Gleaner.

“I focused on performance, discipline, and the welfare of personnel. In the area of performance, it was about crime, operations, and administrative management—especially our operational pursuits. In terms of those pursuits, we employed various strategies, including those handed down by the police high command.”

Powell said that over the course of his tenure, significant inroads were made in crime management within the division, resulting in reductions in major crimes, particularly murders.

- Carl Gilchrist

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