Walker

One of the persons being touted as a possible replacement for former police commissioner, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, has pulled himself out of the race and thrown his support behind the man now acting in the job.

Danville Walker, the commissioner of customs and former director of elections, has endorsed Owen Ellington for the top-cop position.

"I actually have a good opinion of Acting Commissioner Ellington, and I think that once he is given the tools, he will do a good job," Walker told a Gleaner Editors' Forum yesterday.

Walker said he had not been invited to apply for the post and had no interest in leaving the customs department at this time to take on what is a very difficult job.

"There is a lot of talk at times that we have gone through a number of commissioners of police, but I think that is a good thing, because it is not a retirement job, it is a job we expect results from," said Walker.

"I believe he (Ellington) must also understand that the job he is doing now, we want to see results," Walker added.

According to Walker, Ellington must use his performance to set the tone for the men and women under his command.

Walker said the force had many capable leaders with a built-in mechanism that could be used to determine if they could be commissioner or not.

"I don't understand why any senior superintendent who is not doing well in his parish should ever hope to become the commissioner of police. If you can't manage a parish, how are you going to manage a country?"

post still open

The Police Services Commission is now searching for a new commissioner, with applications being accepted up to the end of this month.

It is widely believed that Ellington will get the job, but there have been whispers that the no-nonsense Walker would find favour with the present administration.

In fact, the word on the street is that Walker was offered the job by government officials two years ago when Lucius Thomas quit.

That did not materialise and the former army head, Lewin, was instead appointed to lead the force.

Lewin resigned after Prime Minister Bruce Golding made it clear that the Government had lost confidence in him because of the failure of the force to tame the crime monster.

But Walker argued that several factors would prevent any commissioner from delivering.

He said these include the inability of the commissioner to take action against members of the force in whom he has lost confidence.

Walker also called for a price tag to be placed on every policeman or woman, which would allow the commissioner to pay off non-performers and send them home.

He suggested that the "exit fee" should be determined by the number of years served by the individual.