By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterCOMMISSIONER OF Police Francis Forbes has agreed with the Inspectors' Branch Board of the Jamaica Police Federation that he has no authority to interfere in the electoral process of the Jamaica Police Federation and in particular the Inspectors' Branch Board of the federation.
The Inspectors' Branch Board filed a motion in the Supreme Court seeking a ruling in the dispute between the board and the commissioner.
ADJOURNMENT
However, when the matter came up for hearing in chambers before Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe yesterday, the parties asked for an adjournment to discuss the matter. Following discussions between attorneys-at-law Patrick Foster, Kathryn Denbow and Rosemarie Gibbs from the Attorney-General's Department, who represented the Commissioner of Police and attorney-at-law Marvalyn Taylor-Wright, who represented the Inspectors' Branch Board, the parties arrived at a consent order.
The question of whether the elections of the Inspectors' Branch Board were valid and in accordance with the Police Federation Rules was not agreed on by the parties or adjudicated upon by the court. The consent order was that "the Commissioner of Police by himself, his servants or agents have no authority to in any way interfere with the process of or nullify elections in the Police Federation and in particular the Inspectors' Branch Board."
Based on an advice from the Attorney-General's Department this year, the commissioner of police had informed the Inspectors' Branch Board that elections to the board were null and void and there would have to be fresh elections. The commissioner's directive was based on complaints from members of the police force that they did not get the opportunity to nominate candidates or to vote in the elections to the Inspectors' Branch Board.
Members of the Inspectors' Branch Board and their supporters who attended the hearing said they were happy with the outcome.
