Police chief Lucius Thomas said internal corruption was among the two biggest challenges the constabulary faced, but insisted that he was making headway in winning back the police force from corrupt cops.

However, in a speech prepared for delivery last night at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Liguanea Plains, Thomas, who urged citizens against bribing cops, said the anti-corruption campaign was among the police initiatives being affected by a shortage of resources.

"[The Professional Standards Branch (PSB)], which includes the Internal Affairs Anti-corruption Unit, has been hampered by a serious lack of resources," Thomas said, according to his prepared text. "Despite this shortcoming, the men and women of the PSB have been doing an excellent job in rooting out corruption."

The PSB was established two years ago, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Novlette Grant, and Thomas highlighted its report for 2005 as an example of the progress it has made. During the calendar year the unit sent 66 cases to the director of public prosecutions for rulings, of which the DPP recommended 42, or nearly two thirds, for criminal action. Nine of the cases, or 14 per cent, were recommended for departmental action, while no action was deemed necessary in 10 or 15 per cent of them.

No immediate info

However, it was not immediately clear what specific actions, including criminal charges, were taken against the police officers who were challenged; nor was information immediately available on the number of cases investigated by the PSB so far this year.

While he has spoken on the issue on a number of occasions, it was the second time that Thomas, commissioner of police since February 2004, has so forcefully acknowledged corruption as a serious problem in the ranks of the constabulary. He first did so at a conference of the Police Federation, the union of rank-and-file cops, shortly after taking the top job.

In last night's prepared text, he said he had chosen to speak on the issue to the Rotarians "to demonstrate that we recognise that there is a corruption problem, which I believe is a fundamental first step".

"Having identified the problem, we have gone further by tackling corruption in a robust manner," said Thomas, who presides over a force of about 8,500.