LEWIN

Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin was yesterday officially announced as the new Commissioner of Police effective December 17, confirming media reports that he would have been the man to supervise the more than 8,000 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

According to the Police Service Commission, Rear Admiral Lewin will be on contract with the JCF on gratuity terms, for a period of three years.

Rear Admiral Lewin replaces former Commissioner Lucius Thomas, who retired in October. He is Jamaica's 26th commissioner of police.

The Police Officers' Association could not be reached for a comment last night and the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file members declined to comment.

"I am not in a position to react because I have not seen the release and have not had a chance to discuss it with other members of the federation," Corporal Hartley Stewart, general secretary of the Police Federation, told The Gleaner yesterday from Barbados.

Background

A past student of Ferncourt High School, St. Ann, Rear Admiral Lewin enlisted in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) in November 1971.

The 53-year-old was appointed as second lieutenant in December 1972 and as captain, January 1982.

Rear Admiral Lewin is the holder of a master's degree in business administration from the University of the West Indies, Mona, and has served as board member and member of various organisations, including the Maritime Authority of Jamaica.

He was installed as a justice of the peace for the parish of Kingston in August, 1997, and was awarded the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) August 2003.

Rear Admiral Lewin served the JDF as chief of staff from May 2002 to October, 2007, when he retired.