Promotion bacchanal

MORE than 30 police officers, from the rank of Assistant Superintendent to Ag Senior Superintendent, met yesterday with Attorneys Anand Ramlogan and Sheldon Ramnanan to discuss a plan to take the Commissioner of Police to court over a decision to bypass the officers for promotion.

Last week, the officers were called to Police Headquarters where they were reportedly given letters by Ag Deputy Police Commissioner Winston Cooper which informed them that they were bypassed for promotion.

Ramlogan told Newsday that after his meeting with the disgruntled officers, a letter was dispatched to Police Commissioner Trevor Paul.

The letter noted that the assessment procedure being used by the Police Service was unfair and illegal

According to Ramlogan, it is an inappropriate method to evaluate officers from the first division and illegal because it was never intended to be used in such a manner. He noted that the award of bonus points is the sole privilege of the Commissioner of Police.

Newsday learnt that a constitutional motion will be filed shortly by the two attorneys representing the police officers. The bypassed officers said yesterday that the new promotion system instituted by CoP Paul and the Police Service Commission is illegal and contrary to the Police Service Regulation Amendment 1995, Chapter 15:02 and 15:03.

Several of the officers sidelined by the new promotion system have been acting in their positions for more than a year and will see officers junior to them appointed to the positions. Efforts by Newsday to get a comment from Commissioner Paul and members of his executive yesterday on the issue proved futile.