…But P.S.U. says protocols not followed with appointment

The changes in the top echelons of the Police Force are not without controversy. While the Public Service Union says they have no objection to COMPOL Jefferies, it believes his appointment and other promotions were carried out contrary to Public Service regulations. President of the Union, Jacqueline Willoughby told News Five this afternoon that protocols were not followed and that career officers have become part of the political directorate.

Jacqueline Willoughby, President, Public Service Union
“There is no problem with Mr. Jeffries personally. We have a problem with the way things were done. Mr Jefferies is retired. He’s been retired since last year; he was given back another contract. This same government stood with us in 2009 when we spoke against contract officers. More so, Mr Jefferies is now being given the—well, today sworn in as the Commissioner of Police. Let’s look at that office because this isn’t personal, it has nothing to do with Mr. Jefferies as the man; it’s the office that we look at. There are other officers that could matriculate into that post. If we continuously give contract officers H.O.D position what moral is left for those other officers who’ve worked their way up there. Everybody knows, it’s no secret that Mr. Whylie should have been the Commissioner instead he has been offered the role as C.E.O., what that effectively does for Mr. Whylie is that have caused him now a political officer. His career as a public servant is over as he knows it. Moreover, then they’re two other officers they’re pushing up into now the Assistant Commissioner or some role, the point is they are jumping these two officers over two that is already there. What evidence—how is that happening, what happened to the two was already there, are they not given the opportunity to grow. That is going to create anomaly in the department and then speak to the issue of having competition to who will be the commissioner next. That effectively put those two other officers out of commission. Now you may wonder what gives me the right to even say this. People like the Commissioner post and other H.O.D.’s comes as one-o-seven officers in the constitution. There is a process for promotion: there is a selection period, there is a vetting period, it goes to the commission and then after hearing what all these people have to say, on the advice of the Prime Minister, the governor general makes a ruling. That hasn’t happen. Comments have been passed that the government was put there to effect change. We agree, the government is there to effect change but those change must not be outside of the norm and if in fact we are effecting change to suggest that the police is the answer to crime we are behaving fool-hearted.”