PSC finally confirms: Griffith appointed to act as CoP

THREE DAYS after Gary Griffith' contract as Commissioner of Police ended, his employer, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has issued a statement notifying the public that Griffith has been appointed to act until Parliament approves a substantive office-holder.

Under mounting criticism, the independent body issued a two-sentence release on Friday which said it had appointed Griffith to act in keeping with the provisions of clause 4 of legal notice 183.

That constitutional amendment allows the PSC to submit to the President a list of suitably qualified candidates from amongst the ranks of the police service, including those on contract or previously on contract, as nominees to act as CoP, pending the conclusion of the process to appoint a substantive office-holder.

Repeated attempts to find out from the Office of the President and the PSC whether this process was followed remained unanswered.

Key among the concerns raised was: what does the President do when he or she gets a list of suitable candidates from the PSC?

The legal order is silent on this issue.

Attempts to get clarification from Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi – who piloted the constitutional amendment in June – and Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds, the line minister for the police service, have also gone unanswered.

Griffith is the only person who has said he had been appointed to act as CoP pending the conclusion of the recruitment process, but declined to provide a copy of the letter from the PSC authorising him to do so.