POLICE COMMISSIONER Francis Forbes yesterday assigned Acting Assistant Commissioner Granville Gause, to head a special team of investigators, who will begin an immediate probe into allegations of corruption against members of the Police Traffic Department.
The Commissioner who met with members of the department yesterday, shortly before departing the island for the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) meeting in Barbados, issued a stern warning to police personnel involved.
He also issued a warning to members of the public involved in offering bribes to the police. The Commissioner also stressed that any member of the public who attempts to make false complaints against members of the Force would be investigated and prosecuted.
TELEPHONE CALLS
Commissioner Forbes said his office had been bombarded with daily telephone calls about police soliciting money from motorists. A spokesperson who was at the meeting said even the relatives of some senior officers had been approached by police doing traffic duties.
The Gleaner understands that the son of an Assistant Commissioner was stopped recently and asked to "do something" for the policeman, who claimed that the following day was his birthday.
Among the number of measures to be implemented is an anti-corruption hotline for both police and civilians to lodge their complaints. The Commissioner encouraged the men and women under his command to report their colleagues implicated in acts of corruption. Several sting operations will be conducted in an attempt to expose and catch the rogue cops.
At a public forum put on by the Kiwanis Clubs of Spanish Town and the Business District of Caymanas Gardens last week, the issue of police soliciting money from motorists dominated the discussions.
