DCP Shileds’ Contract Extended For Three Months

Commissioner of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, announced yesterday (Jan.13) that the contract for Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), in charge of Crime, Mark Shields, has been extended for three months.
“At my request, the Police Services Commission has extended the current contract of DCP Shields for three months,” Commissioner Lewin stated at a press conference held at the Police Officers’ Club in Kingston.
According to Commissioner Lewin, DCP Shields’ contract was to come to an end on February 28, but has been extended to facilitate a smoother transition.
“Three months will give us time to do a number of housekeeping matters and to have a much smoother transition to a new structure,” he articulated.
In addition to his crime portfolio, DCP Shields is overseeing the Operations Portfolio in the absence of Acting Deputy Commissioner Owen Ellington, who is away on a study course, and will return in the middle of February.
The Commissioner also pointed out that the contracts for the two other officers on the International Police Officers Programme (IPO), have also been extended.
“ACPs John McLean and Paul Robinson’s contracts would [also have] come to an end [but] they have been offered a one year contract on an entirely different basis from what obtained before. They will be engaged as advisors to the Commissioner of Police, to carry out some mentoring functions and liaison with international partners on community security and safety, and also join the Strategic Review Implementation Team,” he disclosed.
“ACP Paul Robinson will have some duties with relation to firearm and use of force, and some mentoring function. He will have primary duties to deal with the tidying up of the large numbers of firearms held across police station and ensuring their disposal,” he added.
The IPO programme was initiated with a view to having international police officers apply and share their knowledge, experience and expertise; transfer skills to their local counterparts, and assist with capacity-building in the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
The programme is made possible through collaboration between the Government of Jamaica, the British Government (Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development) and Jamaican private sector interests.