A retired British police officer is urging Jamaica to exercise caution in considering more appointments to the constabulary from the United Kingdom, saying that there is widespread lack of confidence in cops in the chief officer rank in Britain. At the same time, Chris Hobbs, who said he spent 18 months, between 2002 and 2010, collaborating with the Jamaican police, voiced strong endorsement of outgoing Police Commissioner Owen Ellington and Deputy Commissioner Glenmore Hinds, who is now acting as police chief after Ellington’s sudden decision to retire last week.
The British police, Hobbs said, could do with senior officers of the calibre of both Ellington and Hinds. Hobbs, who retired from the Metropolitan Police in July 2011 after 32 years’ service, said in a letter to the Jamaica Observer yesterday that it was “with great sadness” that he learnt of Ellington’s decision. Hobbs said he was in Jamaica when Ellington was appointed police commissioner and revealed that there was initial concern among senior British officers that Ellington may not have been as supportive of UK/Jamaican co-operation as were his predecessors.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/-Be-cautious-_17132971