The Jamaica Police Federation has submitted an application to the Supreme Court, urging the imprisonment of Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson, and others, on grounds of alleged contempt of court. The federation contends that police force members are persistently working overtime without receiving compensation. The application, lodged last Wednesday, calls for court orders declaring the defendants in contempt, seeking imprisonment, and requesting additional remedies.

Police Fed wants Commish, ministry officials ‘committed to prison’

Jamaica Gleaner/22 Jan 2024

THE JAMAICA Police Federation has filed an application in the Supreme Court to have Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson, Financial Secretary Darlene Morrison and Ambassador Alison Stone Roofe, permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security, jailed for alleged contempt of court.

In the application, the Federation argues that members of the force continue to work overtime without compensation.

The application was filed last Wednesday by Federation chairman Corporal Rohan James and Detective Constable Nigel Murphy on behalf of the Federation and Corporal Doris Stewart.

At four pages long, the document, which was seen by The Gleaner, asks the court to “commit to prison” Morrison and Stone Roofe as the responsible officers for the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Security, respectively, and Anderson.

Attorney General Dr Derrick McKoy is listed as the fourth defendant.

The body is seeking orders from the court that include a declaration that the defendants are in contempt of court, for the aforementioned three to be sent to prison, costs to the claimants to be taxed if not agreed, and any other relief the court deems fit.

The federation said the application was made pursuant to Rules 1.1, 53.1(a) and 53.7 of the Civil Procedure Rules, 2002.

Rule 53.1(a) provides that the court has the power to commit a person to prison for failure to comply with an order requiring that person to do an act within or by a specific time or not to do an act.

The federation said that on June 3, 2022, the Full Court, comprising Justice David Batts, Tara Carr, and Justice Crescentia Brown-Beckford ordered that the heads of agreement between the federation and the ministries of national security and finance on September 11 were binding on the Government.

The police union noted that the court declared that the agreement

created a legitimate expectation among members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Further, the federation said the court ordered that on or before March 31, 2023, the defendants put in place a system that is in accordance with the terms agreed in the heads of agreement to capture the actual hours worked by rank-and-file members of the force in excess of 40 hours per week and that the said members be thereafter remunerated accordingly for such excess hours.

Costs were also awarded to the claimants against the defendants, the federation said.

It said that two letters were sent, via its attorney, dated August 25, 2023, and September 1, 2023, to the defendants, urging them to comply with the order of the court and that as claimant, it intended to pursue enforcement proceedings, including contempt of court, if they failed to comply with the orders of the Full Court.

“The defendants have failed to comply with the orders of the Full Court in that they have failed to put in place a system that will capture the actual hours worked by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in excess of 40 hours per week, and members are not being compensated for such excess hours,” the application filed stated.

The federation said the conduct of the defendants was “deliberate and designed to obstruct the just disposal of the proceedings”.

“It is in keeping with the overriding objective that the orders sought herein be granted,” the court document said.

The Government was in June 2022 given a March 2023 deadline to implement a proper software system to efficiently capture and calculate overtime hours for members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

The federation filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the two ministries, Anderson and McKoy seeking damages and several declarations, including whether the heads of agreement between the federation and Government was binding and whether the police were entitled to constitutional relief.

The court ruled that the five heads of agreements signed by the federation and the finance and national security ministries between 2008 and 2019 were binding and created a legitimate expectation among members of the police force.

 

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