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Lawyer Grant Connell. (IWN Photo)
Lawyer Grant Connell. (IWN Photo)

There is too much testosterone at the helm of the Police Force, says lawyer Grant Connell.And he believes it is probably time for the constabulary to have a female commissioner.

“Not because I am a lawyer. I have to live in the same society. And the society is just spiralling out of control,” Connell told reporters on Wednesday.

He said he sympathises with the police chief, who “has been swimming beyond his depths from the beginning”.

Connell represented Dwaine Sandy, who was released from police custody on Wednesday, two days after he turned himself in in relation to the robbery of a postal worker and shooting of a police officer in Kingstown last week Thursday.

Police said last week that Sandy was “wanted” and should be considered “armed and dangerous”.

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“I actually sympathise with him (Miller), but right now you need somebody at the helm who can deal with the situation. And I think it is time we break away from what is inbreeded in us from our colonial masters that a commander or the commissioner of police must be a man,” Connell said.

“Maybe it is time to get a woman — less testosterone and one who can make a decision … [and] really think through the process.”

Connell spoke of women’s decision-making process.

“And any real man will tell you, when there is a real problem, you turn to a woman, be it your mother, your wife or whatever and they make a decision.

“Maybe it is time for a female Commissioner of Police to get men around them and they make wise decisions. You need to engage your brain before you engage your mouth or your finger or any other part of your body. That makes sense. And, to me, in this situation, with greatest respect to the Commissioner of Police, he did not do that; and he jeopardised my client’s life.”

Commissioner of Police, Keith Miller (File photo)
Commissioner of Police, Keith Miller (File photo)

Asked what informs his views about the competence of the police chief, Connell said,

“I have dealt with various situations involving the Commissioner of Police…”

He, however, noted that everyone makes errors.

He, however, added, “… policing, in my opinion comes with on the job experience. I don’t think you go into a classroom and are taught how to be [a commissioner].

“It is not LL.B (Bachelor of Laws). C.O.P. is not a certificate. You become Commissioner of Police when you have gone through the ranks …

“It is a lot of pressure on the good man. I always say if you are in a job and it is beyond you, you put people before pride.”

Connell said criminals are “so confident in the incompetence of the police that they can go in the middle of the day, commit a crime and say, ‘The police will not find me. They would think I am Tom Jones’”.

He said that “exactly what happened” last week.

“An innocent man could have been brought home in a box and had that been the case, Facebook would have been closed because as far as Facebook is concerned, and the general public, this is the man that the police say is or was the guilty one.

“So, if he is dead, police success rate goes up and no further questions [are] asked. Now, the Commissioner has a job and the police have their work to do. So, hopefully, they will go out there and find the man who committed this act and put the society at rest. Simple,” Connell said.

Editor’s note: Paragraph eight of this story has been modified to clarify a quotation.

3 replies on “SVG needs female police chief, lawyer says”

  1. A woman COP, thats a novel idea, could even serve a dual purpose, we should ask the fat man about his opinion on that.

    Here is an ideal oppertunity to give the kiss on the neck in the garden at 4 am police woman a long awaited promotion.

    1. The point in question here is,was a servillance camera in the vicinity of the crime? and if so, what was displayed on that camera at the time of the crime? In other words if anything was displayed at all does it relates to to the suspect? If the camera did not capture anything concerning this particular crime. Will there be at least 3 witnesses who can relate the suspect to this crime.

  2. Lowman's Daughter says:

    Great idea! And Connell has a point when it comes to women’s perspectives, attitudes and decision making aptitudes. Maybe now is the right time for a change – you’ll never know how things will turn out until you try. Male chauvinistic societies have no balance and when women are left out of things, there is more suffering than is really necessary. Shake off the colonial mind and reach back in time to a place and people that respected and held their women in high esteem – Africa. Women need to be encouraged to reach higher heights, too, in service for their country. Everyone’s children will benefit. But make sure to put a woman in place whose biological composition isn’t heavy on the testosterone.

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