The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

A FORMER high-ranking police officer has said he would have also rejected a transfer to the Ministry of Social Services if he were in the same position as Assistant Commissioner of Police Kendal Strachan.

Paul Thompson, former assistant commissioner, told The Tribune yesterday something different like a consultancy should have been created for an officer of Mr Strachan’s calibre.

“I would not have accepted it,” Mr Thompson said, adding: “Give me another job. Give me something with a bigger name. Like consultant or advisor on law enforcement to the prisons, something separate, not calling me a chief security officer at a girls (and boys) institution. I felt that was bad.”

The new post would give ACP Strachan a new role of chief security of the Willie Mae Pratt School for Girls and Simpson Penn Centre for Boys. However he has refused to report to his new post. 

As of Wednesday, some of Mr Strachan’s privileges were revoked due to him resisting the transfer. His lawyer Wayne Munroe said his radio and his profile on Lotus Note - a police service network - have been disabled and his access card to police headquarters has been deactivated.

ACP Strachan is one of eight senior police officers who were directed to take vacation leave in March. The Minnis administration has said this action was part of its mandate to not have members of the civil service and law enforcement accumulate large amounts of unused vacation time ahead of retirement. Upon his return from vacation, ACP Strachan was advised of his new role. 

However, Mr Thompson said the situation is the consequence of a large-scale promotion exercise under the former Christie administration.

In 2017, 10 chief superintendents, including Mr Strachan were promoted to assistant commissioners. At the time, then Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dean was promoted to senior assistant commissioner.

“I think this situation is the result of the huge promotion that was made,” Mr Thompson added. “See the force always had a limit to the number of people in the ranks and as far as I can remember they called it establishment and strength.

“There is a board that has the commissioner, one the deputy commissioner (and) at one point it was one and then two, assistant commissioners I think it was just five.

“But then suddenly before the PLP administration was voted out, we had that last promotion where there were so many superintendents and so many assistant commissioners. It went beyond that number, way beyond and that caused a problem because they were overweight with people in those higher ranks and also it put a strain on the police budget because you were paying higher salaries to a number of persons now.

“I was happy for the guys who got the promotion because they got some more money.”

He continued: “The then government should have been told by the police commissioner, ‘we only have an establishment of so many and we shouldn’t go beyond that.’ Maybe they could have given an increase in salary without doing the promotion.”

Mr Thompson said there also needs to be a shift in culture among the top ranks in the force that prepares them for retirement at the appropriate time.

“Now I always believed that when you reach the age of retirement you should retire. That was my feeling to make way for the people below you so they have this thing moving. A young fellow would know that at some point he will be moving into the higher rank.

“I know that in training in the UK they tell you about preparing for retirement. That’s one of the subjects they talk about.

“When I finished my 30 years, I was preparing two years before that for my retirement so when I reached the age for retirement I went straight from the police into a job.”

ACP Strachan is presently on sick leave but by the time he returns to work next week Mr Munroe says he expects to have already initiated legal action on his behalf.

National Security Minister Marvin Dames has said this is a “tough situation”.

“This is a very sensitive one and I’m very mindful of that,” he said Wednesday, “because I know there are varied positions out there and I am always cognisant of the officers involved because I know them personally and their families.”

He said ACP Strachan is exercising his rights, but the government maintains its position.