THE new police commissioner to replace Lucius Thomas is likely to be chosen from seven senior officers, but sources said yesterday that only three of the seven are serious contenders.

The sources said the government was unlikely to look outside the force for a new police chief like the previous government did in 1993 when it contracted former Jamaica Defence Force Colonel, Trevor MacMillan, to the position.

The top three for the commissioner’s job, according to our sources, are Novelette Grant; Carl Williams, former narcotics chief, and Owen Ellington, all assistant commissioners. They are all in their mid-40s.

The other top officers from whom the police chief could also be chosen are Jevene Bent, deputy commissioner; Granville Gause, senior superintendent; Keith ‘Trinity’ Gardener, assistant commissioner; and Mark Shields, deputy commissioner, who was recruited from overseas to fill the post of crime chief.

However, the sources said that Deputy Commissioner Errol Strong, 61, could be asked to act as commissioner until a permanent choice is made by the Police Service Commission.

Strong, who has completed 41 years in the constabulary, was placed at the Jamaican Embassy in Washington to liaise with the United States and Jamaican Governments, particularly during the early period of deportation of Jamaicans after convictions in the United States.

The most senior of the deputies, Bent, who has served the force for 32 years, is 55 years-old, and five years shy of the retirement age of 60 years. However, sources said that while she may be the most qualified and experienced deputy, “the force is still not ready to have a woman at its helm”. If that argument holds, then it could rule out Grant, and narrow down the choice between Ellington and Grant.

Senior Superintendent Gause, a noted crime fighter is 57 years old and three years shy of retirement. He has served the constabulary for 38 years.

Gardener, 55, is on secondment to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and has served 35 years in the force.