If you are serious, Mr. Commissioner, -and I believe that you are- how about starting with the simple things. The suspicions, and practice, of dollars for favors that include traffic stops and tickets; vehicular fitness tests; and noise nuisance excesses. Yes, you will be held accountable for every dollar that changed hands for the grant of that which is due, but still had a personal price, or for that which was not due but was made possible through the application of some old fashioned green paper grease.

On some much more serious fronts, there will be accountability (and that is you) for deficient evidence files, the lack of an evidentiary chain, or just plain disappeared files. There is nothing more debilitating to the pursuit of justice than when the ground level efforts are purposely flawed, or tampered with, or assume mobility of their own.

Commissioner -you are accountable for every action or inaction committed by any constable and rank that lies under your command. There will be paltry praise for the good deeds, and a world of condemnation for abuses, whether real or perceived. We have waited a long time for your arrival, and while you are only one man, I think that you are up to the challenges present and future. I do not think that you will find your tasks so arduous as to consider yourself being harassed.

Your accountability starts right now Commissioner, since the honeymoon of a learning curve will not be yours. The advantages of coming through the ranks, and the lengthy holding period will be to your advantage.

However, the post no longer revolves around crime fighting. Instead, today's Commissioner of Police is about community outreach and race relations; about political dexterity and functional independence; about low morale and low pay versus almost irresistible temptation and high corruption. And now you have gone and added accountability to that already backbreaking load.

The two most immediate tasks -among many- are holding the politicians from both sides at bay, and cleansing the uniforms of their powdered money taint. The former goes to the possible infiltration and misuse of the force for criminal purposes, and the latter ties the underworld to the business world to the political world, and makes them all a part of your world and watch. You have raised the bar on your office and self, and while utterly commendable, you will be harshly judged for the slightest of deviations that come to light. Every word will be dissected, every response will be weighed, and sometimes you may well wonder what manner of insanity made you want this job.

I am optimistic with this start. Now, all the stripes and stars that you earned along the way matter no more. Yes, Commissioner Felix-the accountability starts with you, and the baton stops right there.