Former Commissioner of Police, Colonel Trevor Macmillan, is to be sworn in today as an Opposition senator in the Upper House of the Parliament.

Col. MacMillan will take the seat recently vacated by Norman Horne, who resigned from the Senate. With his appointment to the Senate, the Opposition will again have eight seats as is provided for in the Constitution. The Government appoints 13 senators.

First civilian Commissioner

Col. MacMillan served 27 years in the Jamaica Defence Force before moving on to head the Revenue Protection Division and later becoming the country's first civilian commissioner of police for three years, between 1993 and 1996.

During his tenure, he began a process of removing corrupt police officers from the organisation. Many were returned to uniform, taken off front-line duties and investigated for corruption.

Last December, Col. MacMillan was appointed by Mr. Golding to head a task force on crime, on which also sat a number of independent-minded professionals.

In a statement earlier this month confirming media reports that Col. MacMillan had been tipped for the position, Mr. Golding said the former commissioner's outstanding record of public service and the wealth of his experience in critical areas of national life would make a significant contribution to the deliberations of the Senate.