With two days left on her contract, there is no hint from Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher or the government on if she will be returning to the position or whether there will be a new acting CoP.
Newsday asked questions of the Office of the President, the Police Service Commission (PolSC), National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, and acting prime minister Colm Imbert to get clarity on what would be the fate of the police service past May 14, but the responses from the politicians were non-committal while there was no response from the other independent bodies.
However, people close to Harewood-Christopher said she was “calling it quits” after serving as the substantive CoP from February 2023 and would not resume the role even if offered another one-year contract as she did not get the support she expected in the police ranks and received unfair criticism from the public.
When asked if he received the appraisal for Hareword-Christopher from the PolSC in during a press briefing on May 9, Imbert suggested reporters look to the judgment of High Court Judge Nadia Kangaloo in October 2021.
He said,“I suggest you go and look at the law. I think it will give you some idea of what has to take place,” thereby suggesting an extension was not forthcoming.
In the judgment, Kangaloo said former police commissioner Gary Griffith’s appointment as acting commissioner by the PolSC was illegal and unconstitutional, which left the post vacant.
She also said, under Section 123 of the Constitution, for both the acting and substantive CoP, a merit list had to be prepared by the PolSC and sent it to the President, who would then issue it to the House of Representatives for approval.
Section 75 of Police Service Act also allows for the President to extend the term of a first division officer who is due to retire.
An extension in Harewood-Christopher’s tenure was approved by Parliament in May 2023 and it ends on May 14, as she celebrates her 62nd birthday the following day. And, under the law, she could receive two one-year extensions but it would have to be based a favourable appraisal from the PolSC.
Harewood-Christopher had been acting in the post from December 7, 2022 when then acting commissioner Mc Donald Jacob went on vacation. She was confirmed as the substantive CoP on February 3 but was due to retire when she turned 60 on May 15, 2023.
An acting CoP will have to be appointed in order to give the PolSC an opportunity to appoint a substantive commissioner as, in 2022, seven months lapsed between the deadline for application for the position and Harewood-Christopher’s confirmation in the position.
The position was advertised in daily newspapers on April 11. The deadline for applications was May 3. Parliament has a sitting on Monday but according to the Order Paper there is no nomination before the Lower House from the Office of the President for the post of acting CoP.
In her address at the 101st Police Sports Day at the Police Academy Grounds, St Jam
