Minister of Police, Douglas Singh, confirmed to Amandala tonight that effective Thursday, December 1, 2011, the current Commissioner of the Belize Police Department, Crispin Jeffries, will be retired.
The move to select a replacement is now at the short-list stage. Of the unknown number of international applicants for this position, the list is down to about five or six finalists.
There weren’t any female applicants; the finalists include citizens of the Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
In the meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP David Henderson, will be in charge of the department.
Singh also told us that an exact date for the installment of the new commissioner has not been set, and that the finalists for the post have all conveyed different availability times. Singh says the date when a new commissioner will take office could be as late as March 2012.
Jeffries has been the commissioner since August 30, 2009. His “reign” has been marked with controversy and despite criticism by the community about different decisions made by him, one thing remained the same – Jeffries was a well respected and even intimidating figure in society.