Erla’s baptism of fire

SHE CALLED on God, but Erla Harewood-Christopher’s first year as Commissioner of Police was, by any standard, hellish. Gun violence rampaged. Her officers disobeyed orders. Some appeared in court on offences. Key administrative matters were bungled, forcing her to apologise. Her name was called in political scandals. And, to top it all off, the top cop had to contend with the fact that she is the first substantive commissioner to have no security of tenure. Because she has aged out of the service, she is subject, as things stand, to an annual cabinet review, in addition to the usual scrutiny.

Given all this, it is actually something of a miracle that murders decreased by five per cent in 2023. Other achievements include successful drug and gun busts. Serious crimes and car larcenies fell by two per cent. Police response times are faster, down from 12-13 minutes to 11.

But if miraculous, such modest feats are hardly the answer to anyone’s prayers. They are not even necessarily achievements: it is unclear whether they are due to any new approach.

You could blame a lot of people for the top cop’s baptism of fire. However, Ms Harewood-Christopher played no small role in fanning the flames herself.

Her appearance on Wednesday before Parliament’s national security committee was a masterclass in what a commissioner should not do. She fumbled at key moments, struggling to recall basic statistics about her own performance, which she should have been able to recall off the top of her head or, at the very least, speedily locate. The awkward silences that punctuated the hearing did not inspire confidence. She should have been better prepared.

Yet perhaps the commissioner can be praised for appearing before the committee at all; she missed the first hearing to which she was summoned last year. On Monday, her candour in admitting goals were not met marked a decisive shift from the usual spinning of statistics. The open way in which targets were set for 2023 also sent a good signal.

Those targets, though, were, as Ms Harewood-Christopher now concedes, overly “ambitious.” She wished to inspire her officers to go the extra mile. The same impulse to motivate was perhaps also behind her absurd boast, on Independence Day, of “an increase of zero per cent” in killings. This faith in inspiring her men, it seems, falls within the same category as the top cop’s faith in a higher god to get the job done.

No one can gainsay the top cop has had only one year in office. But she applied for and received the post. Steep learning curve notwithstanding, she should have been ready from day one. She needs to do a better job.