Entertainment blogger and record producer, Wayne Brown, has filed a civil lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the Public Services Commission and the Police Services Commission.

According to Brown, “the time has come for the Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, to truly give an account for his stewardship of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.”

Brown said the filing is on behalf of Jamaican citizens and members of the Diaspora. He is represented by Donovan Collins.

“I was motivated to list myself as one of the applicants to the lawsuit because the Public Service Commission and the Police Services Commission acted improperly and negligently when Major Anderson was selected Commissioner of Police. The lawsuit will cause politicians to stop interfering with the exercise of independent powers granted to such public bodies,” Brown told OBSERVER ONLINE.

In the lawsuit’s statement of fact, Brown’s legal team alleges that the lives of Jamaicans “have been negatively affected by the high rates and pervasiveness of crime, murders and violence in Jamaica” and “they have lost returns on investment made in business ventures in Jamaica as people are in fear of their lives and are hesitant to do business in Jamaica”.

Further, it alleges that “since the appointment of the Commissioner, Jamaica has been experiencing wanton spates of crime and criminality, the homicide rates have increased over the continuing tenure of the Commissioner and are at epidemic levels by United Nations standards”.

Major General Anderson has had a distinguished military career in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) spanning 34 years, culminating in his six-year tenure as Chief of Defence Staff. Since coming to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in March 2018, he has been instrumental in modernising the physical infrastructure, acquiring major equipment and developing personnel to create a more flexible capability-driven force.

However, Brown is not impressed.

“We were forced to file the lawsuit because no government officials were willing to hold the Commissioner of Police accountable and the Police Services Commission was not taking the time to review his contract and decides his fate. The Court is now called upon to adjudicate upon a case which is critical to national security,” Brown urged.

He also pointed to the fact that in 2020, there were 1,323 murders on the island, making it, according to Insight Crime’s 2020 Homicide Report, “the most violent country in Latin America and the Caribbean region with the highest homicide rate of 46.5 per 100,000 people”.

One of the grounds on which the lawsuit has been filed is that the actions of the respondents, the Police Services Commission, and the Public Services Commission, to keep the Commissioner in office is “unfair because it unfairly frustrates the legitimate expectations of the applicants to the protection of life and property”.

Another is that it is “unconstitutional as it breaches the applicants’ right to life and security of the person guaranteed by the Jamaican constitution in section 13”.

Brown believes that the ineffective crime-fighting measures of the State of Emergency and the high crime statistics are a big burden on the Jamaican populace.

“The Commissioner has the opportunity to now truly reflect on his tenure at the helm of the Constabulary and make a crucial decision,” Brown mused.

“The only acceptable thing for the Commissioner to do is resign forthwith in order to restore the morale of rank and file members and also to save the lives of many Jamaicans who could be killed because there is no proper policing activities in place.”