Senior Superintendent RenEto Adams is challenging the Police Service Commission to allow the public to choose the next commissioner of police.

The post of Commissioner became available after Commi-ssioner Lucius Thomas left office on Wednesday. The position was openly advertised in the newspaper, and individuals outside the force were encouraged to apply. Applications closed on Tuesday and it is reported that a number of persons including the director of elections, Danville Walker, and former head of the Jamaica Defence Force, Hardley Lewin, were among the contenders.

Confident

SSP Adams, who recently revealed that he also applied for the post, is confident that he can do the job and told THE STAR that he had a nine-in-ten chance of becoming the next commissioner. While aware that there are many who hope he is not chosen, he is confident that he still has enough supporters.

"I am challenging the Services Commission to put it to a public vote. Ask the people who they want because I am sure a large majority of people will say Reneto Adams. People will always say negative things and you will always have detractors.

Even when you have done well, there will still be people criticising. It's been happening from the days of Christ, where people criticised after everything he did for them and 2000 years later, it's still happening," he said.

The SSP told THE STAR that his 40 years of experience in the force prepared him well for the position and he decided to apply because, "I am confident that I've assimilated well and that I have the capabilities to lead the force.

I have experience in management, operations and risk management and many other things.

I have been trained in these areas and I have been successful in many areas over the years."

High on his long list of priorities is ridding the force of the negative image that has been ceated that has been created by corrupt and disruptive officers. If he has his way, guilty parties will be punished, regardless of their rank.

SSP Adams also revealed that he was not impressed with the work done by officers recruited from overseas and said, "There are people taken from abroad and I haven't seen many of them doing better than us. In my estimation, some of them are doing even less. I haven't read one document about the changes or plans that they have brought to the force. I don't see it, hear it or feel it. You can't use one year and jump up and seh 'oh we have done well, crime is reduced', it has to be done over a period of time."

He also promised that if chosen, he would be the " first Commissioner to be on the streets in some of the hot spots on operations. I would be a field Commissioner. My job would be to protect people from criminals, including the tyrants in the force..."

He is aware that many of his plans could make him unpopular, but told THE STAR that he does not care about popularity or who likes him or not.

His approach to crime solving, he said, would be simple. He explained that strong police presence is the first element in crime fighting and said this would be his major strategy. "When the criminal gets up, he should see the police, when he goes to brush his teeth, he should see the police, when he goes on the road to plan his criminal activities, he should see the police and when he gets home and is in his bed, he should be dreaming about the police. That's the kind of presence we need to have and we need to respond quickly to reports."

SSP Adams also said he would ensure that all functional police vehicles are put into use and said it was too often that he saw police cars parked at "bars, cricket match, football match and at people's houses. It mustn't be said that there are no vehicles." He also promised that if chosen, within a year and a half, corruption in the force would be decreased and in less than three months, there would be a "frightening" decline in crime.