(Jamaica Observer) Colonel Desmond Theodore Edwards, the career soldier who now heads the new Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agen-cy (MOCA), is well-trained and highly qualified in military intelligence and has developed a reputation for performance, the Jamaica Observer was told on Monday.
“He’s quite adept at managing intelligence matters and is well-respected,” a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) officer, who opted not to be named, told the Observer.
“He doesn’t like mediocrity; once he sets time limits for assignments he expects them to be met. However, he’s a reasonably balanced man and is very approachable. He knows how to talk to people,” the officer said.
“He’s the type of person who will call a spade a spade. They couldn’t have picked a better person,” the officer added.
Colonel Edwards’ ap-pointment was announced on Monday by National Security Minister Peter Bunting at a news conference at Police Officers’ Club in Kingston.
“The new agency will give us greater reach and increase our capacity to carry out investigations on people of interest, including the police and those in public office,” Bunting said.
The agency merges the constabulary’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) with the former MOCA, and Colonel Edwards has been seconded for a transitional period to oversee and co-ordinate the merger. “This merger is an interim step in a longer-term plan to create a national law enforcement agency, which will be the subject of a future Cabinet submission,” Bunting said.
At the JDF, Edwards is responsible for force policy on operations, training, intelligence, communications, information systems, civil/military relations, and publications.
