Police Federation and officer corps go public with strong disagreements

A significant public disagreement is emerging between two important representative bodies in the Jamaica Constabulary Force – the Police Federation and the Police Officers Association.

The Jamaica Police Officers Association, chaired by Superintendent Wayne Cameron, responded on Wednesday morning with a statement rejecting assertions made in a Gleaner column on December 30 by Detective Sergeant Patrae Rowe, Chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation, which was hugely critical, in part, of “senior managers” in the JCF.

He asserted that many of these senior managers “have not bought into the Commissioner’s vision for the Force and are on a frolic of their own,” effectively undermining the Commissioner’s efforts to fulfill his mandate.

There had also been, he claimed, “serious instances of mismanagement of human resources and abuse of rank and file members in many divisions.”

He added that a lack of “ingenuity and concern” on the part of some senior managers, particularly commanding officers, “has left critical human resources worn and demotivated”.

Among his other complaints: senior managers using the dispensing of benefits and leave entitlements as a means to reward or punish subordinates and doing the same with transfers to “distant and unfavourable locations.”

"Unpalatable"

Superintendent Cameron, writing on behalf of the Police Officers Association (POA), said while it recognises the mandate of the Police Federation to advocate for the welfare of its members, it rejects many of the assertions made in the article by Sergeant Rowe, and described the manner in which these issues were raised as unpalatable”.

The POA’s statement reads, in part: “In response to claims made about the relationship between the Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson and senior managers of the Force, the POA declares that the Officer Corps of the JCF fully supports the vision of the Police Commissioner and at all times, extensively avails itself to achieve the intent and purpose of the Force as a professional body guided under his leadership.”

He said the POA Executive has met with the Commissioner of Police, “who has never expressed dissatisfaction with the support being given by the Officer Corps”.

Accordingly he suggested that it would have been more appropriate for the Federation to have brought its concerns the attention of the current Executive of the POA, “in an effort to collaboratively address the issues affecting the welfare of the members of the JCF”.

Against that background, he said the Executive of the POA is now inviting the Police Federation to a meeting discuss “the way forward”.

The POA’s statement ends as follows: “Being mindful that Strategic Leadership has many traits, it cannot be left unsaid that some of the key strategies in applying good leadership include utilizing good judgement and ethical sensitivity. The POA categorically maintains the position that the perceived rift between managers and the general membership of the JCF is not valid and the POA will continue to promote excellence in its leaders to secure the vested interests of all our stakeholders and maintain the image and mandate of this noble organization.”