Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin.

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin says police personnel, who knowingly collaborate with or cover up wrongdoing by a colleague as a part of the so-called code of silence (esprit de corps) are demeaning themselves and engaging in criminal behaviour.

Responding to a question at Thursday's Police (Civilian Oversight) Authority (PCEO) forum, in Montego Bay, St James, Lewin rejected the practice which is said to be an unofficial pact among police personnel not to report acts of wrongdoing by their colleagues.

"When you do something, it is either right or wrong, there is no middle between that," said Commissioner Lewin. "There is no code that is going to exist to tell you to do something that is criminal, if it is criminal, it is criminal, and has to be treated as such."

The commissioner went on to state that a policeman, who chooses to support a wayward colleague, was doing so on his own and not as a result of the training he has received as a policeman.

"If your loyalty is to a wayward comrade, then your own honour is being demeaned in the same instance," the commissioner said. "As far as I am concerned, if you hang together then you have to burn together."

The matter of esprit de corps came to the fore in late January when Detective Constable Carey Lyn-Sue, of the Montego Bay police, was blasted by some of his colleagues after he confessed in court that he had fabricated evidence in a murder case against a St James man.

Confession

Lyn-Sue, who was suspended from duty following his admission, came under fire from some of his colleagues who branded him a traitor for his confession. The confession, it was thought, could impact the career of other policemen who were involved in the case in question.

While noting that nothing was wrong about the training process at the police academy, Commissioner Lewin said the training process would be strengthened for greater efficiency.

"We are going to make serious adjustments to the training, the paramilitary part of it has got to be removed," said Commissioner Lewin. "There is also a problem, however, when as a part of their training they (the police in training) are removed from the school and put in an environment as that which now exist."

The commissioner said a programme would be put in place to train officers to act as mentors to young constables in training so as to properly prepare them to act professionally and responsibly after graduation.

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com