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Gary Griffith says he was not surprised that the members of the party in which he served as National Security Minister abstained when the vote for his nomination was taken in Parliament on Monday.
“I see the glass half full. They did not reject me. They abstained,” he said on CNC3’s Morning Brew yesterday in response to questions on whether he was surprised his former colleagues did not vote alongside the Government on accepting his nomination.
However, Griffith said he had noticed that when the Opposition MPs walked out “several of them endorsed me and said I will be the right person to lead the country in law enforcement.”
Declaring that he had “never understood politics,” Griffith said he has no intention of trying.
“My job specifically is to deal with ensuring the safety and security of every citizen in this country.” He also assured he will be no political puppet.
“Let my background and how I operate speak for itself, I am a professional. I was a soldier, a politician and now Commissioner of Police,” he said.
“I will not target anyone. My Job is to win hearts and minds. My job is to embrace the public, my job is to pull everyone together no matter the colour of your party card and turn their eye to the real enemy, who is the criminal element.”
He said once he assumes the office of CoP he intends to meet with all 41 Members of Parliament “to hear their concerns, look at the threats in their constituencies. I cannot be blinded by red or yellow, my job has to be based on the police service doing what is required.”
With several cases of persons charged under the State of Emergency falling apart, Griffith made it clear he had no part in the decision to implement the SoE.
“I was out of the country at the time, the whole decision was made based on the police who came with reports that there was a clear and present danger. They submitted reports to the National Security Council and a decision was made.”
As CoP, he said if there is a similar situation he would recommend a National Security Alert be escalated. It was something which he did in January 2015 when the homicide rate was reduced and “for a 45-day period there were just 19 homicides.”