There’s more support for the suggestion that Jamaica should look abroad for the next leader of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Last week, Police Commissioner Owen Ellington dropped a bombshell by announcing that he would be proceeding on pre-retirement leave.
On Saturday, President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica, Chris Zacca, suggested that the Police Service Commission look outside Jamaica for a possible replacement.
Speaking on Nationwide This Morning, the Director of Safety and Security at the University of Technology, Robert Finzi Smith, said it would do no harm for foreigners to be invited to apply for the post of Police Commissioner.
Mr. Finzi Smith is however warning that any foreigner selected to take up the post will have to confront a massive culture shock.
Finzi Smith says Jamaicans should be under no illusion that any foreigner selected for the job will simply use a magic wand to wave away the country’s crime problems.
Meanwhile, former Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mark Shields, is also supportive of inviting foreign based applicants into the selection process.
Shields is a British national and former policeman at Scotland Yard.
He was seconded to the JCF in 2005, along with three other Britons, to improve crime fighting in Jamaica, and address corruption among the local police.
Shields says the JCF needs to be run as a business, with fresh talent from outside its ranks.
Shields points out that most of the top tier police personnel within the London Metropolitan Police are not from London, but from other jurisdictions.
He asserts that while Jamaicans must be considered for the job, they should be required to compete with qualified persons from other countries.
