The Opposition, People’s National Party (PNP) has sent its congratulations to newly appointed police commissioner, Dr Kevin Blake. The appointment of Dr Blake was made known yesterday at the post-Cabinet briefing by Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang. Dr Blake takes up his appointment on March 19. The PNP in a news release said the appointment of a police commissioner is a matter for the Police Service Commission, and the Opposition would not second guess their selection. However, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and we will be carefully observing his performance in the new role. “The Opposition also uses the occasion of this appointment to remind the new commissioner that the JCF Act gives sole operational superintendence of the force to the commissioner, while policy is the purview of the minister/cabinet, and in some cases – like extending a state of emergency – to Parliament. “We therefore caution him not to involve the JCF in public advocacy for matters that the Constitution reserves for Parliament, and on which there is no political consensus,” The PNP said in its congratulatory news release. They also reminded the new commissioner that “as we approach an election season, it is especially important that the JCF be seen as an impartial and professional Force whose operations should support the democratic process rather than one party or another’s interests.”
