00:00Martin George says the Police Service Commission has a duty to keep the public informed at every stage of the selection process.
00:09He notes that the PSC is expected to conduct a thorough and transparent vetting exercise and to communicate openly along the way.
00:18But so far, he says, there's been no sign of that level of transparency.
00:21He tells the TV6 Morning Edition there's been little to no public engagement and he questions why the commission appears to be operating, in his words, as if locked away in an ivory tower.
00:33George insists the process should be clear and accountable from beginning to end, not only to ensure fairness, but to maintain public trust.
00:42So it's not just a question of you, you know, cuddling away in a corner and you saying, well, OK, you roll the dice and you say, OK, we choose this, like, you know, you're choosing three blind mice.
00:52No, you are supposed to do a fully transparent process whereby you invite the widest possible scrutiny.
01:02Martin George, who is also an attorney at law, says the commission's responsibility is also about protecting the integrity of the process.
01:11He says proper communication and investigation helps to ensure that any rogue elements are discovered and removed from consideration long before the final decision is made.
01:23You'll have persons who, for various reasons, malice or whatever, may make comments, but of course you then discard those.
01:29But, you know, if it is that there is something serious in terms of some, you know, allegation or some, you know, thing that is proven against a candidate, then you have a duty to thoroughly investigate that and make sure that as part of your vetting and screening process, you weed that out.
01:48So therefore, going forward, you have basically a very sanitized list of candidates that comprise your merit list.
01:56The attorney notes, the government is not bound to accept the recommendation of the Police Service Commission and is free to appoint someone it feels comfortable with.
02:06However, he points out that historically those appointed to the post of commissioner have demonstrated a notable degree of independence once in office and have not appeared to be influenced by the government.
02:18According to George, this separation is critical to preserving the integrity of the office and public trust in law enforcement at the highest level.
02:27I think that in fairness to the office holders, we have seen quite a few of them, you know, display a robust level of independence of the, I guess, the feelings or the persuasions or the subtle whisperings of the government of the day.
02:50A motion to appoint ACP Wayne Meister as deputy police commissioner was also laid before the parliament.
02:57Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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