'I did not come here expecting any magic' - Lewin speaks his mind about his first year as commish
Published: Monday | April 27, 2009

Lewin
After just over a year as Jamaica's 26th police commissioner, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin recently sat for a talk with Gleaner Assistant News Editor Damion Mitchell.
In this interview, Lewin tells of his frustration with the dilatory system to dismiss rogue cops, but warns that more police personnel would soon be retired in the public interest; he weighs in on the policy direction of the national security ministry and much more. Read on:
How do you assess your first year as commissioner?
I suspect you could describe it as a mixed bag. I was under no illusion coming into this job but there might be one or two surprises. The fact is, coming into this job from the military, the last five years as its head, I thought that I could bring something to this job, particularly in view of the fact that the strategic review was being completed and I thought that it could be a blueprint for the force. At the end of three years, I think it's time to move on to other worlds, I have never known what life is like outside of uniform.
What were the surprises you encountered?
There are many good wholesome rules and procedures all laid down, some going back many years, for the overall management and conduct of the force, I suspect what was surprising was the extent to which they were ignored. And so one of my tasks and that of my administration is to tweak that. One of the most blatant is the firearms and use of force policy. It's the one I have placed a lot of focus on. I have a firearm and use of force task force, which really is retraining the entire force in firearms and use of force.
What good is happening in the force?
Every day there is so much good happening. But it all boils down to the good old adage: dogs bite man, does not make the news. I get all kinds of advice from all sorts of people and some would say you need some better public relations but, personally, I have resisted all that because I still maintain that the best PR is when a member of the public can say, 'I have had an encounter with the police and the police acted professionally'. There was a case that arose of a very unfortunate incident somewhere on the border of St Ann/St Mary where police officers in the course of their duties opened fire; a baby and a civilian were injured. The police officers actually fessed up and said, 'We made a mistake'. I am thankful that no life was lost but the fact that there was no attempt to create some story, to me, is very significant. One of the things I preach is: be truthful.
Isn't the protocol for dismissing rogue cops too dilatory?
We are doing very many things, one of which has to be the enactment of the Police Act which will govern the new police service which will give the commissioner of police more powers and make him more accountable. For example in the case of the so-called 'MoBay fake cop', while I have the power to interdict up to the rank of sergeant, I cannot interdict an inspector upwards without going through a certain process through the Police Service Commission. That does not augur well for the maintenance of good order and discipline. That is something that has to be changed, but it has to be so measured that people have redress.
There is one area that we have not used much and its the retirement of members of the force in the public's interest and I can only promise you that you are going to see quite a bit more of that. The process by which people are stringing the system out for years and years, we are going to be moving forward. Sometimes, it may be a better route than going for criminal charges. What we have to do is take a careful look at the file of the individuals. We have many things that are simmering and you will hear about them soon. We are fighting against a cultural thing here in Jamaica. People have a general view that unless money is passed, it's not corruption. They just want a link.
Are you not frustrated with the protracted period it takes to weed out these bad cops?
Frustrating as it is, I did not come here expecting any magic, like I suppose the public expects some magic in the solving of crime. I saw a particularly period where I can set the rein, set the target, set the direction and certainly before I leave (in the next two years) I want to get as much momentum on that as is possible. Somebody has to come and pick it up from there.
TOMORROW: The commissioner's take on the national security ministry's policy direction and much more.