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MC DONALD Jacob is in charge of the police. But for how much longer, nobody can say. A recruitment process for a commissioner is ongoing. Mr Jacob is acting. He will presumably do so until such time as the Police Service Commission (PSC) completes its recruitment exercise and until such time as Parliament approves a candidate.
The uncertainty has placed the acting top cop in an unenviable position, the awkwardness of which was underlined on Wednesday as he personally launched a programme to help fight gangs.
The details of the Gang Reduction and Community Project (GRACE) thus far revealed suggest it aims to be preventative: deterring at-risk individuals from becoming cogs in the wheels of criminal enterprise.
But the extent to which this pilot project will result in a meaningful change to police operations and police culture is not clear. It is too early to say, and we simply do not know enough.
What we do know is that Mr Jacob is under pressure to act.
With hundreds of murders annually linked to or as a consequence of gang activity, and with the murder rate continuing its unacceptable climb, the top cop – acting or otherwise – must put in place measures that can make a difference.
This means he cannot neglect long-term plans and visions within the organisation he leads, even those which predate his tenure.
At the same time, Mr Jacob cannot ignore the messy political reality within which he now operates. It is possible there may soon be a new top cop. He cannot seek to initiate measures that might encumber incoming leadership.
In other words, the acting top cop must tread a fine line between assertive action with long-term consequences and the need for deference to the constitutional process now in train. He must act like a caretaker government, holding the fort until such time as a new head is in place.
This ungainly position has been birthed by none other than our current constitutional arrangement, which has left too much room for uncertainty when it comes to the appointment of a commissioner of police.
The chairman of the PSC, retired justice Judith Jones, expressed the hope that the recruitment process will be completed “by the end of the year.” That was four months ago.
And it was a timeline given with the express proviso that it was merely a personal – as opposed to collective and official – ambition, and one subject to nuances relating to revised notices governing the process, as well as the will of MPs.
Mr Jacob may well be in post long enough to see GRACE bear fruit. But he should not be forced to serve in these circumstances.
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