For years I have been saying that the (JCF) is top heavy and that the force and its members would be better served if there were less gazetted officers. Now the Jamaican media has managed to find two utter failures who [now ] feel that the force needs to be streamlined because it’s too top heavy It is major news.
Hardly Lewin
These two most incredibly insightful former cops [sic] are two transplants who had no business in the JCF in the first place. Hardly Lewin the former head of the army turned top-cop and Mark Shields former British cop seconded to Jamaica for what reason I am yet to understand had much to say about the top heavy force.
Now don’t get me wrong I totally agree that the force is top heavy. I am on record having said it year in year out that the force does not need all of the people it has in senior positions. I simply do not want to hear that from either of the two men who did not have the character to make those recommendations while they were in the force. You don’t get higher than Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner in the force so why now?
Shields (photo courtesy of the Daily Gleaner)
Both Lewin and Shields had no problem while they sat atop the dirt pile, now they got kicked off they have a problem with the pile. Mark Shields and Hardly Lewin caused more harm than good. Shields tenure was marked more by his forays into the upper St. Andrew social scene than anything he brought to the table to assist in law enforcement.
Nevertheless, I never blamed Shields for taking advantage of the opportunity to come down and supervise the natives. Oh, by the way, he also married one of the little native girls, has a nice consultancy gig and is much sought after for comments by the native press. There is nothing to be said about Lewin except that his tenure at the helm of the JCF was an experiment which had catastrophic consequences for the morale of the hard working men and women of the department.
Anderson
Nevertheless, as I have been saying in recent times the series of actions undertaken by the Andrew Holness administration seemed more geared at dismantling than enhancing the strength of the force. It is an open secret that they twice offered the job of Commissioner of police to Major General Antony Anderson and he turned it down. Another slap in the face of the people who are quite qualified to lead the force but are unable to do so because of the stranglehold politics has on its ability to do so.
I’m still unsure what it is about the police which so fucks with the head of the upper Saint Andrew mulattos? Oh, I get it these are the left overs from the Island’s colonial past, these are the new Bucky massas. That’s it, you can’t have these children of the peasantry have a say over the blue bloods. So there you have it, anyway I am still interested in learning what exactly is the contribution of Mark Shields to our country for the money he was paid? Hell, will someone please educate me on what good Hardly Lewin did in the time he was there, please?
Oh never mind that Mike, the Government just tripled INDECOM’s budget while police stations do not have computers and cops in barrack rooms are looking up at the stars at night. You ever wondered why they are so in love with INDECOM?
Wonder no more, INDECOM is their police force to police the little boys from the peasantry. Ha ha ha…
It’s much easier to shoot the messenger than give up our safe places in our heads, be dragged away from the comfort zones we created in our own minds.
So we continue to dwell in places of unreality rather than assess the message and change. Instead of heeding the warning beacon from the lighthouse and turn the ship around we continue right into the rocks, all while telling ourselves the light is beckoning us to come closer.
It is rather unfortunate that the Jamaican people have allowed themselves to be tribalized by the two political parties that they see literally everything through the lens of the party they support. It is a new kind of control on the minds of the masses which causes them to slavishly embrace lies and propaganda as facts at the expense of truth and reason.
What the hell are you talking about Mike? Well, to begin with, there is the avalanche of feedback I get, some printable others not so much regarding my stance on the recently enacted (ZOSO) law, ha ha ha .
“Oh, why are you so negative”? “Why can’t you wait and see if it will work”? “Give the thing a chance kumred .” This one really cracks me up though, me a kumred.
Now, why would I wait to see if a barrel rolling downhill toward the sea will end up in the sea? What are the chances that ‑that barrel will suddenly change or defy the laws of gravity, turn around and head back up the hill? Okay while you ponder that probability I am going to move on to facts and things which can actually happen. You know just like I said ZOSO was not a crime policy it was a smoke screen designed to pacify you? Look there are some things this administration is doing right, the ZOSO law is not one of them.
Peter Phillips Opposition leader.
The dollar is kinda stable, according to some reports, there are more people employed than ever before even though I would question whether much of those jobs are not public sector jobs created by the myriad government agencies? Big Government at work, don’t get me wrong, to a man who needs to eat a job is a job private or public sector. Never mind that the other political party would do the same, they are the architects of big dysfunctional government. They tax everyone blindly then give the money to loyalists for jobs they never show up to do or from which there is no return on investment.
Peter Bunting, no credibility on crime. Once said crime required divine intervention.
I lay no claim to fame for predicting accurately the outcomes which would emanate from the execution of ZOSO. MURDERSANDOTHERSERIOUSCRIMESINCREASESINCEZOSO. CRIMINALSSHOWINGUPINDROVESINOTHERAREAS. You heard it here first, spelled it out in detail and explained why ZOSO could not work. Yup, I likened the flooding of certain areas with police and military bodies to a little water in a tied balloon, squeeze one end and the water rushes to the other end of the balloon.
I said it was not a crime strategy because it wasn’t at conception and it still isn’t on execution. The arrogance and indeed the ignorance of some within the ruling labor party as it relates to this fiasco is stunningly palpable. Street criminals are certainly not as stupid as their contemporaries who double as politicians. Why would anyone expect criminals to sit and wait for cops to come arrest them and take their expensive automatic weapons?
Of course, crime would increase in other areas as a result of this fiasco. I said so because I know what the hell I am talking about. Interestingly, this bit of social engineering will fail like all of the other attempts at putting the lock on the runaway crime on the Island.
The fact is that Jamaica is a good place for criminals to ply their trade. It is really bad and it’s going to get even worse because word gets around really fast that Jamaica is open for criminal business. These mental retards who run our affairs have no idea what they are opening up our country for. Stay tuned and put your seatbelts on.
There are two competing positions on crime as posited by the two political parties in Jamaica neither of which can lead to a positive conclusion. “I firmly believe in the rule of law as the foundation for all of our basic rights”.Sonia Sotomayor.
The PNP.
♦ The People’s National Party has never been a party which embraces law and order as a political philosophy. In fact, the populist persona of the PNP has been geared at attracting all and sundry into the party and keeping them through a lack of education and a heavy dose of indoctrination.
Under Percival Patterson, the Island’s longest-serving Prime Minister and arguably the leader on whose watch we lost our country, the dog whistle “anyting a anyting” was understood to mean, you are allowed to do what you please.
Needless to say, not only did crime increase exponentially but the nation gave up its moral compass. Patterson made no attempt to arrest the precipitous slide the country was on- during his elongated tenure. It may reasonably be argued that he took active measures to ensure that there would be no impediment to the crime scourge while he was Prime Minister.
For almost ten (10) years under Percival Patterson, not one dollar was made available to train a single detective. It would be a waste of time to belabor the point as it relates to the clueless Simpson Miller. Needless to say, crime is a staple of any PNP administration, the party is not concerned about it, it thrives on it. It is true that power corrupts. The hope at the polling stations and the actions of the elected representatives, unfortunately, often turn to be opposite. The power of ballot turns into the power of wallet. Some law-makers become law-breakers. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.
The JLP
The Jamaica Labor Party of Hugh Lawson Shearer was a party which respected the rule of law, after Shearer the Party pretty much stayed with the policy under Edward Seaga but it is difficult to make the case for the rule of law while maintaining a community like Tivoli Gardens. In fairness to Seaga the PNP created much more Political garrisons than the JLP ever did.
After a 14 1⁄2 year exile, the JLP was returned to power under Bruce Golding’s leadership. Having inherited a country which had changed since he was a Minister in the JLP administration Golding made the tactical mistake of refusing to extradite the Tivoli Gardens crime lord Christopher Coke to stand trial in the United States. Standing on what he later told the New Yorker was principles anchored in the Constitution he maintained the methodology the US used to obtain the evidence against Coke was antithetical to Jamaican law.
Before he capitulated he bellowed in one of his speeches as the issue swirled around his Government,“This Government does not take orders from Liguanea,” a thinly veiled swipe at the US Embassy which is based in Liguanea St. Andrew.
Golding’s protégé, Andrew Holness is a product of the liberal philosophy which presupposes that respect for citizens rights and enforcement of the nation’s laws are diametrically opposed. That false choice has been the talking point of the island’s elitist cadre of movers and shakers many of whose legitimacy is to berate law enforcement. Many of whom are heavily invested in the illicit drug and guns trade.
It is an ill-informed and dangerous position to take, at a time when the very authority of the state is under serious threat from homegrown thugs who demonstrated in 2010 that they are not afraid to take on the state.
Despite this open contempt for the rule of law and the incredibly gruesome killings each day both political parties continue to delude themselves into thinking that this existential problem can be fixed through gentle persuasion and community outreach.
CONCLUSION
The facts are simple, the PNP could not give a rats ass about anything but pillaging the public’s coffers enriching itself in the process. In order to do that they have to hold state power, as a result, the party has never been able to shake itself free of its marriage with garrison politics, gangs and gangland figures. For the PNP, Gangland associations have kept it in power for the longest unbroken period in the nation’s brief history.
The JLP of today is a misguided arrogant party which deludes itself into believing that Janitors can perform brain surgery. The JLP has basically become filler party, given power by razor thin margins only when the people are absolutely fed up with the corrupt PNP.
In the meantime, the country stumbles blindly on, unable to live up to it,s true potential. A country corrupt to its core and a people too high on the drug of self-indulgence to realize they are only surviving daily on miracles instead of the blessed lives they could enjoy.
Jamaicans obey laws when we are guests in other people’s lands.Those of us who don’t, get a one-way ticket back. Jamaicans do the things they do and commit the crimes they commit at home simply because administrations of both political parties have refused to make and enforce laws which make it very painful to break laws.
Our country is crying out for leadership what it gets instead is deception, half truths, and distortions.
“Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-tight national budgets, crowding out important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away investments and jobs”.Joe Biden.
“This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated.”
WASHINGTON ― Former President Barack Obama said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s decision to dismantle the program protecting young undocumented immigrants was “contrary to our spirit, and to common sense.”
Trump announced Tuesday that he will end Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, in six months. Unless Congress steps in, ending the program could put nearly 800,000 undocumented young people at risk of deportation and unable to work legally when their two-year permits expire.
Obama said it was a “political decision, and a moral question” ― and one of basic decency.
“To target these young people is wrong ― because they have done nothing wrong,” he said in a statement. “It is self-defeating ― because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people ― and who we want to be.”
Obama started the program in 2012 and urged undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to come forward to the government, pay a fee and undergo a background check before receiving a two-year work permit and reprieve from deportation.
He did so after legislative efforts to help Dreamers ― which are being revived now because of Trump’s decisions ― failed multiple times, as he noted in his statement.
″[B]ecause it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents, my administration acted to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people, so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country,” Obama said.
Trump promised during his presidential campaign to immediately end DACA, but Obama urged him not to, both publicly and in private conversations. In his final press conference as president, Obama said he would speak out if Trump targeted Dreamers “who have grown up here and for all practical purposes are American kids and send them someplace else when they love this country; they are our kids’ friends and their classmates, and are now entering into community colleges or, in some cases, serving in our military.”
“The notion that we would just arbitrarily, or because of politics, punish those kids when they didn’t do anything wrong themselves I think would be something that would merit me speaking out,” Obama said at the time.
By ending DACA, Trump dismantled one of Obama’s most significant immigration policy achievements. Trump already dramatically reshaped immigration enforcement from how it was under Obama, who began his presidency with record deportation numbers before changing enforcement priorities to focus on certain undocumented immigrants over others.
Trump immediately eliminated those priorities as president and has detained and deported people whom Obama allowed to remain in the country if they checked in with the government or met other requirements.
Trump said that Congress should act on Dreamers, although his statements were vague and the only legislation he mentioned specifically during his statement on DACA focused on limiting legal immigration, not actually undocumented immigrants.
Obama said it was time for Congress to act as well.
“Now that the White House has shifted its responsibility for these young people to Congress, it’s up to Members of Congress to protect these young people and our future,” Obama said. “I’m heartened by those who’ve suggested that they should. And I join my voice with the majority of Americans who hope they step up and do it with a sense of moral urgency that matches the urgency these young people feel.”
The very idea that the Government’s strategy to deal with the existential threat the gangs pose to our country is to flood neighborhoods with police and soldiers tells a story which begs introspection.
Close your eyes for a minute please if you will and picture heavily armed soldiers and police officers in neighborhoods. In that mental journey, I want you to imagine for a minute where in the world are these images part of daily lives.
I hear Iraq, I hear Afghanistan, I hear sub-Saharan Africa. Now open your eyes, because I hear Jamaica. Now think for a minute, not just about the optics but about the reality which necessitates this.
You decide the sustainability of this, then figure out if this will remove much or any of the thousands of high powered weapons in the hands of the militias and gangs?
Then understand what led us to this point. Political manipulation, social engineering, and a process of systematically dividing the country into political camps which ostensibly careened out of their control and now they cannot control it.
Many of us former police officers have been warning about this for decades. Many of us have walked away. Today even with the lack of opportunities in the country people sign up and in a couple of years, they decide they want no part of it.
On average 600 officers simply walk away each year, the political leaders and the department’s hierarchy can continue to delude themselves into believing that the primary reason officers are leaving at the rate of 50 each month is purely economics.
The fact is that many who leave the department leave and remain in the country despite the shortage of better opportunities. Worse yet, if they think that to codify into law a six months notice before officers leave at the peril of imprisonment will stop the mass exodus, they are even dumber than we thought. You want to fix crime give respect and tools to law enforcement. You are not the ones placing your lives on the line each day.
For their part, principals of both political gangs/party may continue to apportion blame for the nation’s predicament but both would be well advised to do some soul searching and deep introspection. Maybe just maybe a mea culpa would be a good place for them to start the healing process in this country.
Maybe it’s time for a truth and reconciliation commission, as was instituted in South Africa after apartheid was dismantled. Inevitably though, it would require exactly what the title says, “Truth and reconciliation”, something I doubt Jamaica’s politicians are capable of.
In the absence of that, there are ways in which we can at least arrest this slide our country is on. There are those who refuse to face the reality that our country is teetering precipitously close to anarchy. We have some choices we must make, none of which requires us to ignore reality, or paper over the realities with a thicker veneer of bull.
image courtesy of Loop Jamaica
There are those who rather criticize and demonize the messenger/s, than see the problems for what they are, and recognize those who have created the situation we are in. It is a dangerous stranglehold Jamaica’s politicians have placed around the collective neck of the nation’s people after the colonial era. One which causes the larger population to see literally every issue good or bad, through the narrow lens of politics.
Some read the headlines an form political opinions because they are too piss lazy to read. They would rather say we identify problems without attaching solutions. For those I have no time. The fact is that for years this writer has attached a series of working solutions to ending this culture of criminality which has gripped our country.
For the most part, they are ignored, in some instances, they are copied and used only when the proverbial shit has reached the fan, then they claim those ideas as their own. I am absolutely not perturbed that they would use my ideas, I beg only that they utilize all of them in a comprehensive manner for best results. Maybe we will have a better Jamaica for future generations if we care enough about anyone but ourselves.
There are those who are inclined to disregard the solutions I have offered, because I make an easy target. It allows them to absolve their political idols of culpability for the state of the nation, while they spend their time engaging in ad hominem attacks on those who talk about the issues. In the same way, the political class blames the police for the problems they created, their minions’ character assassinates anyone who dares to challenge the status quo.
INTHESEMUSINGSYOUMAYFINDSOMESOLUTIONS
The path forward out of this morass will require a monumental lift and a paradigm shift from the way we see the problems. This will mean that we have to try new things which our country have not tried before. We did not get to this place overnight, we had roughly 55 years, a lifetime of doing the wrong things resulting in what we have today. It will require much time and effort to right the ship, but the single most important thing is that we recognize that what we have been doing has been failing and that we need to make a change.
How do you begin the process of reorienting the masses to the idea that crime is having a debilitating effect on their lives? How do you convince a nation which Transparency International rates inherently corrupt, to turn away from supporting and assisting criminals and embracing the rule of law?
It requires that we have Godly, moral, and upright people in leadership, whose interest is in nation building, and not self-enrichment. It requires that Government take responsibility for its failings and stop placing blame on underlings it has set up to fail.
How do we begin the process of training children to believe in God family and country? How do we reorient our young people to having respect for life and our cherished institutions? Are we too far gone that we cannot clean up our public institutions and as a consequence, ensure that private institutions adhere to the rule of law?
Can we have police officers, prosecutors, and judges with righteous intentions in the way they dispense their functions? Are we willing to spend the time to put adequate laws in place to protect the innocent and punish the guilty? Do we have the character to ensure that we are not paying lip service to the existential threat we all face from the existing situation because we gain mileage one way or another?
Those are some of the broader questions we must tackle before we begin to execute a more precise plan of action which will pull up by the roots the culture of criminality which is choking the lifeblood out of our national life. I stand ready to assist this administration or any one in the future which asks for my help. What I will not do is to be anyone’s puppet while they carry on with business as usual Each and every Jamaican have a responsibility to work toward a better country for their children, at the rate things are going it seems the Island is destined to be corrected when the Chinese have fully taken over.
Those who forget the mistakes they made are destined to repeat them. A people who came over on slave ships, were brutalized for centuries, sodomized, marginalized and murdered, who came out of slavery and the degradation of a vicious caste/class system, only to turn on each other, may very well find themselves back in the shackles of economic and class bondage once more, in a country they call theirs but which will be theirs in name only.
Now that the first so called zone of special operations (ZOSO) has been established in the Mount Salem area of St. James look for crime to spike in other areas of the parish and even in adjoining parishes. Like a plastic bag half filled with water, squeeze one end and the water simply rushes to the other end of the bag.
I caution individual rank and file officers not to detain anyone, simply show up and complete your shift. This is not a crime fighting strategy, the powers who created it know that hardened criminals will not stick around waiting for a massive amount of security personnel to be infused into their zones of operation. As a consequence officers must see this exercise for what it is.
SPEAKINGTOEACHANDEVERYRANKANDFILEOFFICER … It’s important that each and every one of you use your deductive reasoning, extrapolate from the charade playing out, of which you are a part, that you are mere pawns on this chess board set up so you will take the fall for this Government’s failures.
Understand also that the political opposition, like the Government, does not respect the rule of law. Both political parties pay lip service to human rights you must know their posturing about human rights and setting up telephone lines to monitor these zones are dog whistles, “I stand with you against the police”.
Know also that this is not about removing guns and dangerous murderers from the streets. It is a smokescreen which was announced ahead of time, making sure that the dangerous killers within the communities are long gone by the time you arrive.
It is important that you recognize that both the Prime Minister and the Justice Minister have said you are not in these zones to kill anyone. Those retarded comments by themselves depict the lack of respect they have for what you do. Police officers including yourselves are sworn to protect lives, that include your lives and sometimes that of others. In observance of those sworn commitments officers are sometimes forced to use deadly force. No real cop goes out looking to get into life and death situations not knowing how those encounters may turn out. Yet these people who purport to be your leaders, the very same people who created these volatile communities send you into these most dangerous of communities and set you up to be killed.
How anyone could send cops into explosive situations and lecture them not to kill anyone is to tell you that you have no right to self-defense, never mind defending anyone else. This is the level of lunatic political opportunism this administration brings to the table under the guise of crime fighting. It is the most glaring example yet that it is a shameless exploitation of police and military bodies with a view to changing perceptions.
This ZOSO act, if at all a crime reduction act would have empowered you to go after criminals which by the way each and every one of you is sworn to do. Technically speaking not only does the ZOSO act not give you any more powers it actually curtails your powers to make policing decisions.
Holness
Each time you have to go to a so called lay magistrate to seek permission to detain a suspect understand that you are being asked to surrender your training and sense of what you were trained to do to, subjugate yourselves to an untrained individual who was given a piece of paper and told they are lay magistrates. Understand that many are political hacks with loyalties to the two political parties and hardly any interest in seeing an end to crime.
Bear in mind that you are merely being asked to place your bodies in these communities so that criminals will stop killing in the area they the administration will henceforth designate zones of special operations. The law does nothing to empower you to go after the killers with a vengeance. Ask yourselves why it doesn’t?
Peter Phillips opposition leader
The Government is quite prepared to move your bodies around the country from place to place depending on the flare up in murders just so they can have something to point to and say crime went down in a so called zone.
In the end, crime will continue because neither of the two political parties wants you to police the country, the lack of education, poverty, and violence is a perfect environment for them to exploit for political purposes. You are merely the fall guys and gals.
I believe we all know that for the most part, the majority of your political leaders belong behind bars. Because criminals get to make the decisions we have the country we have. Remember Tivoli Garden’s officers, if possible do not touch anyone, don’t even speak if you can avoid doing so, complete your shift and go home.
This is where our country Jamaica is at the moment. Over a thousand people dead and the killings are continuing day by day. The Island’s justice system is geared at protecting criminals as can clearly be seen from this recent statement by the Island Justice Minister as far as detentions are concerned in the so called Zones of Special Operations.
The nonsensical notion that police officers whose jobs it is to arrest criminals will be forced to cede their professional authority and judgment to untrained political hacks who are now bearing the fancy name lay magistrates is stunningly retrograde. There is no precedent for anything like this in any western democracy. »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»>.
Delroy Chuck Minister of Justice…
“If a person is to be detained, the police will have to convince the JPs that this person is suspected (of committing a crime), and if the JPs disagree, the man must be released. If the JPs agree, within 24 hours that person must be taken before a parish judge.”Delroy Chuck.….
FILE — In this Feb. 4, 2009, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, left, orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together and moved into a separate area of Tent City, for incarceration until their sentences are served and they are deported to their home countries, in Phoenix. (Credit: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio proudly referred to his tent city prison as a “concentration camp.” For decades, the former sheriff freely carried out his abuse and racial profiling, ignoring any requests to stop, Arpaio was finally convicted for contempt of court earlier this summer, but the conviction lasted barely three weeks before Donald Trump pardoned him, paving the way for what Paul Krugman calls “fascism, American style.”
“There’s a word for political regimes that round up members of minority groups and send them to concentration camps, while rejecting the rule of law,” he wrote in his Monday column. “What Arpaio brought to Maricopa, and what the president of the United States has just endorsed.”
Jamaican media is reporting that the Island’s Prime minister Andrew Holness spooked by the climbing murder numbers and probably by questions from some quarters regarding the delay in implementing the Special Zones Law, is about to designate the first such zone.
According to the Observer, the Prime Minister had what was characterized as a “very robust” meeting with 20 of the most senior members of the police high command including Commissioner George Quallo.
I am interested in learning what exactly is meant by robust in that context. According to the report, Holness cautioned the officers about how they carry out strategic searches in the declared zones and urged them not to let down the JCF with inappropriate behavior.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness
That level of condescension only makes sense if you understand the level of patronizing disdain with which these shit for brains politicians view the police. Remember my stated desire to know what constituted robust in the context of that meeting? This is where I would have told him where to go with that condescending attitude, was I one of those senior officers.
I understand the Prime Minister cheered the meeting before a scheduled trip to the nation of Chile. I hope Commissioner Quallo and his team cautioned him not to embarrass our country overseas.
It will be interesting to see how the announcement is made and how the security forces will begin executing that strategy. As I said yesterday clearly the Special zones law was concocted as a farcical attempt to stifle outcry at the burgeoning murder statistics.
A REALCRIMESTRATEGY
A serious crime plan would have been designed to effectively go into neighborhoods and do targeted intelligence based sweeps with a view to confiscating illegal weapons and ammunition, recovering stolen property and arresting wanted criminals.
A FARCICALILLUSIONDESIGNEDTOCONFUSE
This special zones law will see criminals leaving the designated zones with their weapons before the arrival of the security forces. They will take with them the tools of their illicit and nefarious trade, including whatever contraband they have to other areas. As a consequence murders and shootings will ostensibly go down in the areas designated special zones and most importantly for Andrew Holness, that will create an illusion of success.
What they will not point to is that the migrating criminals will be polluting the areas they migrate to with their heinous brand of criminality. It is important that people all across the Island see and understand this for what it is. It is a law designed to fool people into thinking crime is on the decrease because certain areas are flooded with cops and soldiers.
Residents in sleepy little towns and villages must now look out for their own security. Be on the lookout for strangers you have never seen, form large groups and ask questions of them with a view to determining whether they are in your communities for the right reasons. It is unfortunate that as a nation we have come to this but failing to do so could be the difference between life and death for you and your families.
BEONTHELOOKOUTFORMIGRATINGCRIMINALS
Understand that I am not in any way shape or form encouraging vigilante justice. I am saying ask questions, your lives and that of your family may depend on it. It is important that as communities you band together and work with local police officers you can trust. Report strange persons present in your neighborhoods. Unfortunately, your Government has taken the decision to indirectly pollute your neighborhoods with criminals using a law it knows will have zero consequential effect on crime.
This medium and this writer join our Friends Jackie and Jerry Ingram, Darren and Megan and the entire family as well as our friends at the Poughkeepsie Journal, our elected officials and our entire country as we wait with bated breath for the return of our beloved Corey.
We hope and pray for the parents of all the service members who have died and those who are still missing. My family and I continue to pray for the safe return of Corey and the others to their families.
Corey Ingram
Five sailors were injured in the crash. Swift said four were immediately flown by Singapore navy helicopters to a Singapore hospital, and the fifth was hospitalized when the ship reached Singapore. The McCain remains docked in Singapore for repairs.
Admiral Scott Swift, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said the investigation into the cause of the collision was continuing.
The U.S. Navy suspended its search efforts after more than 80 hours covering a 2,100-square mile area. According to a release from U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs, search efforts will continue inside the ship’s flooded compartments.
The Ingram family is not giving up.
On Thursday, family members recalled Corey Ingram’s past returns home, and the light mood he would create with his quick wit.
“There was nothing but jokes and laughs from him,” Gardner said. “His smile would light up a room.”
But for all his humor, Corey Ingram, who joined the Navy in 2008, takes his work seriously, his mother said.
“I spoke with him about two months ago on FaceTime, and he was telling me all sorts of stories about his time in Australia,” she said. “But when I asked him where he was going next, he said, ‘You know I can’t tell you where we’re going.’ ”
As the situation develops, the family is relying on official reports as they wait for an update.
“We’re trying to stay away from the news and the media right now,” said Megan Ingram, Corey Ingram’s sister.
Ingram attended Poughkeepsie High School. Bob Murphy, interim athletic director at the school, served as its principal from 2001 to 2006. Murphy said he knew Ingram from school and his daughter, a 2007 graduate, was friends with him.
“He was like most our students — good people, come to school, take care of business, move through our system and set themselves up to be productive members of society, which obviously he had accomplished,” Murphy said. “It’s just unfortunate that we are at this point.”
The crash was the fourth accident involving a U.S. warship this year and the second fatal collision. The U.S. Navy dismissed Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin as commander of the 7th Fleet on Wednesday.
City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison expressed “great sadness” that Ingram is missing in a statement Thursday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Corey’s family, friends and fellow shipmates,” the statement said. “As the search continues, the Queen City sits with a heavy heart as we await the return of our hero, Corey George Ingram.”
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D‑Cold Spring, called the loss of Ingram “heartbreaking” in a statement.
“Petty Officer Ingram is an American hero and this tragedy is a reminder of the risks that our service members take every day to keep our country safe. I hope everyone in the Poughkeepsie area will join me in saying a prayer for him and the Ingram family,” Maloney said.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro also released a statement saying, “Our thoughts are prayers are with his parents, Hubert and Jacqueline, one of our own Dutchess County employees, and his friends and loved ones during this time. We appreciate the brave men and women who are searching for Corey and his fellow sailors, and we pray they soon bring these American heroes home.”
“I found this downright scary and disturbing,” the former director of national intelligence said on CNN.
Clapper told host Don Lemon Trump’s performance Tuesday night was not necessarily a surprise, but further proof to him that the president’s fitness to serve is questionable.
“This behavior and this divisiveness, and the complete intellectual moral and ethical void that the president of the United States exhibits … How much longer does the country have to ― to borrow a phrase ― endure this nightmare?” he said.
Most of all, Clapper said, he worries about Trump exercising the power of the presidency.
“I worry about frankly the access to nuclear codes. In a fit of piqué, if he decides to do something about Kim Jong Un, there’s actually very little to stop him,” he said, referring to the threatsTrump made to the North Korean dictator this month.
“The whole system is built to ensure a rapid response if necessary,” Clapper added. “So there’s very little in the way of controls over exercising a nuclear option, which is pretty damn scary.”
Since the Labor Party assumed the role of Government less than two years ago the administration has taken several steps which indicate that the interest of the Constabulary and its members are not paramount in its plans.
The first indication of that was the appointment of Robert Montague to the National Security Portfolio. Montague may be a decent guy but that does not qualify him to oversee the critical National Security Portfolio.
We are told that Montague is an agronomist of sorts which at best would make him a better candidate for the Agriculture Ministry. Andrew Holness the Prime Minister has on several occasions gone out of his way to say that the police of the past kicked down peoples doors, planted guns and killed people extra-judicially, so too has Montague.
Yet in all of the times, he has chosen to denigrate the police with his slanderous lies he has not provided one scintilla of proof. Those inflammatory statements do nothing to foster good relationships between citizens and police and have a debilitating effect on law enforcement.
Stunningly Holness has fostered a close relationship with two tax-payer funded agencies dedicated to being antagonistic to the police department. I know of no civilized nation on earth which actively creates, fund and encourage dissent and antagonism against its law enforcement agencies. The Office of Public Defender and INDECOM are two such agencies of big government which actively perpetuates a culture of antagonism toward the police department.
In the meantime, Holness is presiding over a rapidly deteriorating crime situation which is evidenced by a massive increase in murders which some estimates put at four per day but the real numbers are actually closer to seven dead each day. Several of his minions have been overtly condescending to the police force including Marlene Malahoo-Forte and others. Time after time the Holness administration has demonstrated that it support is not with the police but in enabling the institutions which are viscerally against the police.
As a result, the escalating homicide numbers are a direct correlation to the way this administration has responded to police officers. Let me be clear my critique of the hapless and misguided Andrew Holness is not an endorsement of the other morally bankrupt political party. I understand that many people are intellectually incapable of seeing things other than through the narrow prism of parochial partisan politics.
Below is a Jamaica Gleaner Article surrounding the Police review done to counter the one sided biased and repugnant Tivoli Gardens Inquiry commissioned by the former PNP Government to indict the Police and embarrass the then opposition for political purposes. The inquiry which was supposed to be a fact finding one ended up being a disgraceful and ungrateful attack on the security forces. As was to be expected, the lengthy and extremely expensive report was devoid of any evidence of wrong doing by the security forces but long on recommendations of penalty to several high ranking police officers, despite no evidence of wrong doing.
The disgraceful inquiry headed by an anti-police neo-colonialist Bajan, David Simmons and two sellouts from Jamaica was a charade from the start. It’s biases and disrespect for law enforcement was obvious and palpable from the word go.
♦If the inquiry was a serious one the question of Bruce Golding’s conduct in shielding a transnational criminal Christopher Coke now serving a lengthy sentence in a US Federal prison would have been center stage. ♦The origin of the money which paid the American Law Firm Manhatt Phelps and Phillips to lobby the US State Department on behalf of said Gangland Criminal would have been the issues investigated also. ♦ Who warned Christopher Coke that an American extradition warrant was issued for his arrest after the then Commissioner Hardly Lewin told the then Minister of National Security of the warrant? ♦ Why was Tivoli Gardens allowed to become a law unto itself and a place outside the remit of Jamaica’s laws and law enforcement? ♦Who supplied the guns to the Tivoli Militia?
There is a whole host of serious and salient points from which a credible inquiry of criminality and collusion could have been launched which would inexorably lead to the imprisonment of many dirty politicians posing now as decent law abiding citizens. Instead what transpired was a kangaroo inquiry which sought to incriminate law enforcement officials who annexed Tivoli Gardens to Jamaica in a war which only begun when the forces of law and order went into the community to arrest Christopher Coke. The Police had every right to conduct its own internal review of the garbage report and rubbish the recommendations therein.
Be it remembered that two police officers were murdered as well as a member of the JDF and several police stations burned to the ground. The leadership in Jamaica are a worthless bunch of filthy criminals who celebrate gangsters and killers while fooling the uneducated masses that it is trying to do something about crime.
It is no surprise than Horace Chang would be the one responding to the police attempt to correct the gross injustice of the Simmons commission which, to begin with, provided zero evidence for its flimsy innuendos and assumptions. There should be no surprise that Chang does not want the Police to be a badder gang [sic]that those in his St James Constituency in which murder is par for the course. Neither he nor Andrew Holness wants the gangsters and killers in their constituencies controlled. Holness is in hiding on this, even as the Federation is taking his Government to court for surreptitiously trying to sneak a backdoor change to the Constabulary Force Act which further infringes on the constitutional rights of police officers.
Bruce Golding
The JLP has a history of arrogance and elitism as soon as it gains state power. This time is no different. It is no wonder that it has been in the political wilderness for an unprecedented 141⁄2 years before Golding was given a chance, only to be dumped in less than one term. This new administration has demonstrated that 14 1⁄2 years in political oblivion has not been enough for their party to come to its senses. The Police Department has every right to expect that the political administration will stand solidly behind it in all instances where it is not outside the boundaries of the laws. Holness and his administration has drawn the battle lines rather succinctly and have placed themselves squarely against the police. I hope that the police will remember these moments in the future when they have the chance to step into polling booths.
I am ashamed of the support this medium gave to Holness and the JLP while they were in opposition and seeking state power. This medium will work doubly hard to right that mistake in light of Andrew Holness systematic attempts to dismantle the Jamaica Constabulary Force one brick at a time.
.….….….….….….….….….….….….….……
A senior member of the Andrew Holness administration has disclosed that the recently released Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Administrative Review report has not been accepted by the Government.
The controversial report which cleared five cops of wrongdoing in the 2010 security operation in Tivoli Gardens has been rejected and denounced by several civil society, human rights groups and the Public Defender Arlene Harrison Henry.
But Dr Horace Chang, the minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, says the Government cannot accept the report at this time. “We are not satisfied that we can accept that report,” Chang said. “It is not a good report and it is not reflecting well on the police force [given] where we are coming from,” Chang added.
He is the first minister of the administration to publicly comment on the report since its release. Chang, a minister who is sometimes left in charge of the Government in the absence of the prime minister, would not definitely say whether the Government will ask the JCF to withdraw the report, but said it is ‘likely we will go that way’. Chang, while he is fully aware of the tough challenges JCF faced, he cautioned that the police response “cannot be to be a ‘badda’ gang than the gangs out there”. The minister said the Cabinet will be asking the minister of national security, Robert Montague, and the National Security Council to review the report and provide a full some response.
MerckCEO Kenneth Frazier recently stepped down from President Donald Trump’s manufacturing council amid concerns that the president did not sufficiently condemn the behavior of white nationalists this past weekend in Charlottesville, Va.
Not only did Frazier step down, but he offered a powerful statement: “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry, and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal.”
In addition to positive responses on social media, Merck’s stock price rose approximately 1%, its biggest improvement in nearly a month. Given the positive response to Frazier’s courageous actions, why are many business leaders reticent to speak up about issues of social justice?
Research demonstrates that when people in organizations speak up about moral issues, they are often castigated. For example, employees who take a moral stand when others do not are often viewed as holier than thou. Research also shows that most whistleblowersoften face scorn and retaliation from their employers rather than being celebrated for their courage. Given that speaking up can also open someone up to claims of hypocrisy if they ever act in a less than virtuous manner, many people in organizations are hesitant to voice their opinions on ethical issues.
But there’s an important caveat: Research I coauthored, led by W.P. Carey School of Business professor Ned Wellman and including Ross School of Business Dean Scott DeRue, finds that although lower-level employees may be vilified for raising issues, organizational leaders are generally praised for taking a moral stand. Given the legitimacy of their roles as organizational authorities, we want leaders to speak up and respect them when they do.
Further, research demonstrates that a CEO’s moral values are positively associated with firm performance. CEOs who focus on doing good for all stakeholders — including society at large — are more likely to be seen as visionary and have employees who exert extra effort not formally required in their job descriptions. Ultimately their companies perform better financially, as compared to those of leaders who focus almost exclusively on economic outcomes.
Fortunately, Frazier is part of a new generation of CEOs who have the courage to speak up about moral issues. After hearing a shareholder complain that Starbucks had lost customers for supporting gay marriage, then-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said, “Not every decision is an economic decision. … The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity.”
Similarly, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, recently instituted a 20-day bereavement leave policy for employees to grieve losing an immediate family member. She has also made great strides to not only have equal pay for men and women at Facebook but to encourage top leaders in other businesses to do the same.
As I write this article, 422 new full-time MBA students at Michigan Ross are beginning the Impact Challenge—a four-day project aimed at inspiring future business leaders to have a positive impact on society through business. Much like Frazier showed the courage to speak out against racism, I am hopeful and optimistic that our future leaders will have valor to stand up for their principles.
Looks like the prince of white nationalism might be out of his job as the breaker of black backs and the whisperer of white supremacy. If reports are to be believed, President TrumPutin’s chief political strategist and former executive chairman of Breitbart News, Steve “Papa” Bannon, may be out of the White House by the end of the week.
I don’t believe what I’m hearing, and in fact I don’t use this phrase unless I’m talking about Fox News, but this sounds like “fake news.” But according to reports from several news outlets, it’s sounding like the Dr. Umar Johnson of white supremacy has worn out his welcome.
Sources told CBS News that Papa Bannon, who helped TrumPutin win the presidency by instilling unbridled fear into the hearts of white America, may soon be out of a job because the new chief of staff at the White House, retired four-star Marine Gen. John Kelly, is not for the fuck shit.
According to White House leakers — because they too hate the president and at this point are paid government operatives set to topple this deplorable régime — white Umar Johnson is on the chopping block and could be gone as early as the end of this week.
While Bannon has survived the first cuts on the White House Apprentice, news sites have noted that this is the closest TrumPutin’s Papa has come to being tossed out of the Big House, Fresh Prince style.
“His close, personal relationship with the president can’t be ruled out, but his fate is the topic of intense internal discussions involving the president and inside and outside adivsers, in part because of Bannon’s history of clashing with members of the national security team as well as top economic advisers. He’s also accused of using his allies in the conservative media to try to undermine H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser,” CBS News reports.
White Umar Johnson has battled with several members of the president’s Cabinet because he’s a white nationalist who’s been using his relationship with the president to garner favor and push racist rhetoric.
“There’s an ideological dimension to this as well: Bannon’s hard-right, nationalist economic perspective and his reluctance to engage or expand military operations makes him clash with comparatively more moderate voices in the White House,” CBS News reports.
Oh, let me also mention that one source told CBS News that Kelly wants “more adults” in the White House.
As the rhetoric gets ratcheted up on a possible war with North Korea it is important that the mistakes of the past inform the decisions of the future. According to (metalfloss.com) In 1950, the Bomb was only five years old, It was just assumed that atomic weapons would be part of any future conflict — like the Korean War, for example.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered the employment of the atomic bomb against China if it sent troops or bombers into Korea. China ignored the threat. Likewise, there were plans to drop the Bomb on the Soviet Union if it got involved, but European leaders objected to such an escalation, fearing the Soviets would use it as a justification for the conquest of Europe. Accordingly, the United States promised to use atomic weapons in Korea only to prevent a “major military disaster.”
It is important never to forget that the United States is the only country in the history of the technology, ever to use a nuclear/atomic device against an enemy. The Korean War never officially ended an (armistice), cease fire, was agreed upon.
North Korea invaded the south in 1950 in what it called the “Fatherland Liberation War”, a clear indication that at the center of the North’s contention is a desire to reunify Korea under the rulership of the North. It is not out of the realm of common sense to assume that the removal of American servicemen from the Peninsula would advance that agenda. In China, the war was officially called the “War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea”. Both China and the then Soviet Union fought alongside the Nork Koreans resulting in a stalemate at the line of demarcation known as the 38th parallel.
In the almost seven decades since the Korean War America Presidents have lived with a bellicose North Korea. This begs the question, “what has changed in the six months since Barack Obama demitted office”?
This hyped up rhetoric is serving someone’s interest and may have precious little to do with any weapon in the arsenal of the North Koreans. Before the United States gets involved in another war that could easily and quite rapidly escalate into a third world war it may serve some people well to stick their stupid head into a paper bag and take a few deep breaths.
Bellicose rhetoric based on bravado and machismo serves no useful purpose particularly when there is such ignorance surrounding the history of this region by those ratcheting up the war of words.
Today we learned that if North Korea launched an unprovoked attack on the south or anyone they will remain neutral but if the Americans attack North Korea they will enter the war in defense of the North. This should give every living human being on this planet pause. China is a nuclear power with a massive military and a 1.3 billion people.
Russia is right on the border with China, so it’s logical to think that any conflict with North Korea would likely involve Russia and not on the side of the United States. This is a situation which requires level heads, not bloviating bravado.
We are living in stressful times, whether the sky is falling or we are merely inundated with information that it is falling may be a subject for debate. What I do know is that growing up in the 70’s was a lot simpler than life is today.
Nations grapple with myriad issues, from poverty to wars, from crime to climate change, the issues are real and they demand immediate action. In some cases, the issues some nations face are not of their own creation.
No country is totally responsible no country is totally blameless. Factories and foundries of large industrial nations churn out the goods and spare parts we refuse to live without, poor impoverished people in Africa and other parts of the world decimate forests for firewood and charcoal. Ultimately we all contribute to the decline, just at different levels.
Jamaican police rake in huge gun haul…
With the complex issues, we face it makes sense that we do not add to the problems we are forced to deal with by creating unnecessary problems and allowing others to develop into intractable and existential ones. I have always harbored an unhealthy disdain for politicians because I fundamentally believe they are in most cases liars who will do and say anything to get elected. Their rapacious desire to hold onto power has been critical in shaping the directions of far too many countries. Generally, the best interest of the larger population is sacrificed for the interest of smaller cliques with their own narrow interests.
Nowhere is this more evident than in my native Jamaica a once beautiful peaceful place with problems, like everywhere else in 1962 when the British handed over control to the natives. In the 55 years since we have accomplished much but our accomplishments pale in comparison to our talents and abilities. Rationally we must consider what might have been had we remained under colonial rule? As unpalatable as that thought is and as putrid as the taste is thinking about this out loud it is inescapable in light of how things have turned out.
Jamaican flag
Truthfully my default disposition is to blame the political parties which must take responsibility for the environment they created since 1962. Nevertheless, I cannot ignore that other factors have shaped our perceptions and realities leading to our present circumstances. Our Schools and Colleges, business sector, our churches and NGO’s, our private and public institutions and each and every home must share in the blame for the present predicament in which we find ourselves.
A recent report revealed that the vast majority of our educated young people would leave the country if only they had the chance. This is not new, in 2015 another such study revealed that most Jamaicans would pull up roots and move to another country if only they could. How then does that square with the Jamaica 55 celebration and the bravado about how great Jamaica is? Both polar points cannot be true.
The intractable crime problem deluging Jamaica should not be one of the problems the small Island of 2.7 million be dealing with today. Unfortunately, years of failures at all levels have resulted in a behemoth that administrations of both political parties are unwilling to deal with out of fear of the fallout.
Dozens of shells expended from automatic weapons is the rule rather than the exception.
The police are projecting that murders could spiral to as high as 1,526 by the end of this year if the current trend of 4.1 homicides per day continues.
A breakdown of daily murders issued by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) on Monday showed that a total of 893 homicides have been reported since the start of this year, with the highest number, 157, committed in June.
A total of 138 murders were recorded in May, while 136 were reported in July, 123 in January, 118 in March, 109 in April, and 86 in February. The August figure stood at 26 up to the time of the NIB report.
According to the report, the year-to-date increase in murders was 159 or 21.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“The murder figure since the start of 2017 is showing an increase when compared to the corresponding period in 2016,” the NIB report stated. “Similarly, the cumulative figure for the last three days (August 4 – August 6, 2017) shows an increase of 1 or 9.1 per cent when compared to the corresponding period in 2016.”
Over the period, the highest number of murders – 117 – were reported in the St James division. This was followed by Westmoreland with 85; Clarendon with 84; St Andrew South, 76; St Catherine North, 75; Kingston West, 59; St Catherine South, 56; Hanover 40; St Andrew Central, 38; St Ann, 38; St Andrew North, 38; Kingston East, 29; Manchester, 26; Kingston Central 19; St Elizabeth, 14; St Thomas, 12; Trelawny, 12; St Mary, 11; and Portland, 4.
Commissioner of Police George Quallo
These numbers though stunning and indeed frightening may not tell the full story. They represent the bodies which have been found and the reports which have been verified by law enforcement. There is a large amount of missing persons who have not been accounted for. Additionally, in many cases, people are seriously wounded in attacks on their persons they do not die immediately as a result of those injuries but succumb to those injuries later. Police blotters do not reflect those in the homicide data.
The Police can be more meticulous in tracking those later deaths from their own investigations, bringing the data up to speed to reflect in a more comprehensive way those delayed homicide cases. The latest report released by police does not include the cases of felonious woundings and attempted murders which ought to be processed alongside and simultaneously with the homicide numbers as well, in order to fully grasp the seriousness of the violence.
PM Andrew Holness
The most consequential issue influencing crime on the Island and the way it is being responded to is the failure of the population to fully appreciate that it is a clear and present danger. The dangerous narrative which has infected the body politic is that there is crime everywhere and that all people have to do is steer clear of certain areas. Tell that to Mr. Ramdial who was gunned down in his car as he drove on an uptown city street. Tell that to the countless people who were not involved in lotto scamming yet they lost their lives at the hands of mindless killers whose claim to fame is an automatic weapon, bullets to spare and a desire to kill.
The idea that only people who engage in lotto scamming or people who are mixed up in crime are getting killed is not cutting it anymore. The notion that keeping one’s eyes closed and lips sealed is a way to avoid getting killed is insane in as much as it is retarded conceptually. That kind of surrender to the worst elements in society is a testament that as a country Jamaicans have run out of ideas and are crying out for help. Nevertheless, the attitudes of Jamaicans as it relates to what is necessary to squash those who would disrupt the society is a large part of the reason the problem persists and is getting worse.
The real truth of the matter is that closer to 2555 Jamaicans are being murdered each year. If that number doesn’t terrify you then multiply that by ten. If the idea of over 25.000 dead people over a decade does not absolutely jolt you this article is not for you.
In a refreshing yet surprising twist of national security common sense, a senior lecturer in political psychology in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies told Jamaican media yesterday he was pessimistic about the success of the Government’s Special zones law.
Without seeking to assign motive I will simply point to the salient points Dr. Christopher Charles made, even as I wonder at the reason that the media did not go to members of the security forces for this information.
Said Charles, “Nothing I have heard is about dismantling the gangs and getting the guns. In fact, during the zones of special operations, because the men know it is going to come, I suspect that they might move to communities that are poor, but where gangs are dormant”.
Hmm, It was on July 20th that I said this in this very medium. Does anyone believe the killers are going to stay in an area saturated with police? What then will happen if an area is saturated, doesn’t crime invariably trend down there? The killers will simply move to other areas as they did in 2010.
Charles went on: “They are not fools. They will go into those communities and wait. They listen to the media, so they know that Rockfort, MoBay, Clarendon, and Trelawny, anywhere we have killings, they are going to come so they would have moved. They can also lock away their guns and just easy.”
At the risk of blowing my own horn, I had this to say on July 20th. The Prime Minister(Andrew Holness) retains the right to designate an area, a zone which needs special attention from the security forces. That area is flooded with security personnel. But God forbid that members of the security forces should have to rough up a shotta who gets caught up in the dragnet. God forbid the security forces are forced to shoot a fucking murderer pointing a high powered weapon at them.
I summed up my response to the special zones law this way. The plan creates an illusion which gives the appearance of success but will do absolutely nothing about the actual murder statistics.
Mark my words, it will be like putting a little water in and tieing the mouth of the balloon, squeeze one end of the balloon and the water rushes to the other end. That is the effect this law will have. It is a façade which will placate some, fool others and give supporters something to wag their tongues at.
Notice that the Lame stream media had no problem quoting a Ph.D. of political psychology on a matter in which he has absolutely no training. It would be absolutely impossible for them to consult retired officers who would be able to speak freely, unshackled from the chains of government employment. The more things change the more they remain the same.
As the saying goes “Houston we got a problem”, who remember when they said the police were selling Passports (they were)? I believe we all remember that. At the time it reached critical mass, the government of the day removed that function from the hands of the corrupt police[sic]. They created a whole new bureaucracy to handle that function a resizing of Government if you will.
Ok, now who remember when they said police were selling gun license(they were)? We all do. The government removed that function from the hands of the corrupt police[sic]. Another Government bureaucracy was born. The police force is still largely corrupt so INDECOM was born. Another Government bureaucracy, bigger Government yet the problem persist. Yes, folks, it was alleged dishonesty of reporting which necessitated the birth of INDECOM. Oh, oh did I mention that a Public Defenders office has been established too? Soooooo.…..
Anyway, the Motor vehicle Department has been selling drivers licenses from as long as, well forever. The Customs Department has been ripping off Jamaicans bringing goods into the country for as long as that department has been in existence. Additionally, the loss of revenue to the state’s coffers is unimaginable, never mind the negative effects it has had on commerce. So too has the Registrar Generals Department. If you want to get a birth certificate, or as we Jamaicans say, birth (cer-fi tikit) you better have some money or be prepared to wait and wait and wait.
The Political class, they simply steal everything that isn’t nailed down. They borrowed, squandered and pilfered so much money, that generations of Jamaicans yet unborn are indebted up to their eyeballs. In an effort to place some semblance of control on that the Contractor General’s Department was born. Another expansion of Government.
By now you may have guessed where I am going with this dribble, you see it was never about the tiefin police bway dem, as I have said repeatedly, at the risk of sounding biased, it is hard to make a case against the police alone, when we have a rather dirty pool to pull our public and private officials from.
The inescapable fact is that we have a society which is inherently corrupt. Don’t get me wrong many of our people are decent God-fearing people. What is lacking in my estimation is a lack is moral leadership. When our political business and religious leaders are viewed as corrupt it creates a domino effect of” I’m gonna get mine too”. The undeniable fact is that most Jamaicans believe their public and private officials are corrupt. As a consequence, they feel justified in getting their’s by whatever means necessary. It is not out of the ordinary for people to turn down a job because quote” nu hustling nu de pan di wuk”.
In recent years the Berlin based Transparency International the leading global non-governmental organization devoted to combating corruption has ruled that the Jamaican society is inherently corrupt. Out of a total of 176 countries, Jamaica is rated 83 not good.
Professor Trevor Munroe, author of a report published by Transparency International has argued that Legislative reform is needed to ensure “greater transparency and accountability in political parties and in the public sector. Professor Munroe said that it is an urgent requirement for strengthening national integrity systems, not just in Jamaica but the broader Caribbean.
We have an integrity problem which will not be solved by creating more agencies focused on corruption. Larger Government does precious little as we have seen from the massive expansion of Government as a result of this malady. We simply cannot expand Government any further as we look to finding a solution for this problem. We need to look within. We have become a people who measure our success by our excess.
As a business owner in the New York area, I have seen that excess in the presumptuous demands Jamaicans at home makes on their loved ones in America. Every laptop computer, every cellular device, even data cards must have optimum storage. On the rare occasion, I venture to inquire why people in Jamaica are demanding the most expensive electronic devices which they are receiving as gifts and the buyer can hardly afford, people, open up detailing their disgust at this new level of gall.
Greed is a huge driver of the murder rate presently sweeping our country, on the other hand, greed of the white color variety is eating away at the social economic and moral structure of our society. How we arrest that cancer is anybody’s guess.
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