Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
COMMISSIONER OF Police, Lucius Thomas, has cracked the whip, sacking at least 19 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for various disciplinary reasons and has sent 21 other police personnel on leave, following investigation into allegations of corruption.
"Five of the members were dismissed for criminal convictions and 14 for unprofessional conduct, while 11 members were also fined in internal courts of inquiry," the commissioner disclosed last Friday during a press conference, held at the Police Officers Club in St. Andrew.
He said the 21 police officers sent on leave were interdicted on charges ranging from bribery to breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act.
"There is no doubt that you are already aware that 10 police officers are presently before the courts facing charges of larceny and conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, and drugs and ammunition arising from investigations which started on June 15," said Commissioner Thomas.
He added that nine other members of the force have been suspended on various breaches. The commissioner said this is but the tip of the iceberg, as more intelligence-driven investigations are under way.
"This is a massive investigation; last Monday we arrested another policeman in connection with a stolen motor car," said Assistant Commissioner Novelette Grant, head of the Professional Standards Branch, who is supervising investigation of alleged corruption involving members of the police force.
MASSIVE FRAUD
While not disclosing details of the investigation, ACP Grant said so far investigators have uncovered massive fraud in the cases of the stolen motor vehicles. The arrest of the police personnel came less than two months after the commissioner disclosed that members of the police were involved in deep corruption, ranging from selling drugs and ammunition, to providing escorts for drug dealers, using service vehicles.
Commenting on the high incidence of homicides, the police said there has been a 24 per cent increase in the murder rate. Up to yesterday, the figure stood at 926. For the corresponding period last year, it was 741.
