Baffling PSC silence

IT TOOK one day for the Police Service Commission (PSC) to suspend Erla Harewood-Christopher.

On January 30, Dr Wendell Wallace received a letter advising that the top cop was under probe and had been arrested. By January 31, Dr Wallace wrote Ms Harewood-Christopher, ordering her to cease duties; on February 3 a media release was issued.

The approach taken in relation to Ms Harewood-Christopher seems at odds with that taken in relation to Suzette Martin.

Two weeks have passed since Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro announced, on June 23, that Ms Martin, a deputy commissioner, is subject to a criminal probe. Even before the new top cop made this disclosure, he had corresponded with the PSC, given a complaint lodged by firearms dealer Brent Thomas since June 18. If the commissioner hoped his announcement would spur the PSC to act, he was sorely mistaken. Instead, there has been a disquieting silence, which does not augur well.

A distinction might be drawn between Ms Harewood-Christopher’s case and Ms Martin’s, given that one involved the highest rank possible, the other a deputy. The circumstances of the arrest of the former top cop – which rocked a nation already on edge because of a state of emergency – may have also been unique.

But the Constitution places top cops in the same boat as commissioners when it comes to the remit of the PSC, which, under the Interpretation Act, also extends to suspension. And High Court judge Christopher Sieuchand on May 12 ruled the PSC acted within the law when it sent Ms Harewood-Christopher packing. Even factoring in pending litigation, there seems little reason for the commission to hold its hand.

More disturbing, however, is the fact that the PSC’s inaction means lowly constables are subject to one standard while officers at the top another.

Regulation 152 of the service allows a police commissioner to suspend an officer “when a report or allegation is received.” Justice Frank Seepersad, ruling in a separate matter on June 12, upheld an exercise of this suspension power as being necessary “to prevent the service from being brought into disrepute” and to protect probes. Should this not apply to deputies as well?

In recent years, PSC heads have not been good at communicating. As crime has spiralled, more opaque have their activities become. Outspoken figures like Prof Ramesh Deosaran and Dr Maria Gomes have made way for Bliss Seepersad, Justice Judith Jones and Dr Wallace. Under Justice Jones, the commission kneecapped itself, claiming it did not have power to “investigate.” But clearly, as seen with Ms Harewood-Christopher, it has the ability to find out facts and seek updates. Which is why its continued penchant for silence baffles even more.