(Trinidad Guardian) – Canadian Neal Parker, who has been nominated for the post of police commissioner, is now at the centre of an official investigation. This stems from Parker’s reported involvement in the selection process for the commissioner of police some two years ago.
Police Service Commission Chairman Ambassador Christopher Thomas said on Wednesday that the matter was brought to his attention, after which a probe was launched. Reports are that Parker, a retired chief superintendent of the Royal Mounted Police of Canada, sat on the board as one of the selectors in 2008 to decide nominees for the post of top cop. Penn State Justice and Safety Institute was contracted to conduct the selection process in 2008.
Concerns pertain to whether Parker was involved in a conflict of interest, because of inside knowledge in his prior role as an assessor. Parker now serves under contract as the deputy police commissioner to the government of Antigua. Thomas said: “We are going to look at that but we have submitted our recommendation.” The recommendation is for Parker to be made Trinidad and Tobago’s police commissioner. “I don’t know whether it makes a difference, because the assessment in this occasion was different from the last occasion,” Thomas said. “But it does raise some questions,” he admitted. Asked if Parker’s selection would be nullified if the report was confirmed, Thomas said that that would be for Parliament to decide.
“Unless they (Parliament) come back to us with something else, but I don’t want to speculate on that,” he said. According to the chairman, out of 70 applications for the job, there were only four from locals. They included newly-appointed acting Deputy Commissioner Stephen Williams, acting Deputy Police Commissioner Maurice Piggott and ACPs Fitzroy Frederick and Wayne Richardson. None of the four were in the top five shortlisted for the post of CoP, Thomas said. “Penn State submitted a short list of nine candidates for the office of commissioner of police,” he revealed. He further explained: “The five highest graded candidates did not include candidates from T&T.” He said the commission considered the five, assessed them differently from the firm as required, and then nominated Parker.
The nomination was sent to the President of the Republic. The names of two foreigners were then placed on a merit list. If Parliament rejects Parker, it has the option of selecting from two others, one a US citizen and the other Canadian. Penn State also submitted a shortlist of ten candidates for the offices of deputy police commissioner. Of the five highest graded candidates, two were nationals of T&T and one was a Canadian. “The commission assessed the five highest graded candidates differently and decided that two local candidates and one foreign candidate should be nominated to the President for that post,” Thomas said.
He indicated that Williams and Piggott were chosen for the posts of deputy commissioner, along with Jack Ewatski, a Canadian and former chief of police of the Department of Winnipeg, Canada. Penn State was chosen to conduct the selection process, Thomas explained, because no local firm met the criteria. He said that “two or three firms” from this country applied to conduct the assignment. “For a firm to have that capability and that experience, they must have some expertise,” Thomas said.
