One of the topics I have pounded on over the years that I have been involved in social commentary is the need for better supervision at all levels of the JCF.
None of the suggestions I have outlined and hammered on have been followed with the exception of in a few isolated cases.
Today I see headlines with officers who served in foreign police departments advancing the very same ideas I have advanced years ago and almost daily.
Never mind that British Cops were brought into the country to tell us what we who served in the JCF already knew and knew how to do.
I will continue to hammer home these points until a foreigner of enough standing brings it to the attention of our pseudo colonialist leaders forcing action on these issues.
WE NEED TO SEE LEADERSHIP FROM THE GAZETTED RANKS.
Young officers in the streets wrestling with belligerent, aggressive subjects with no backup support. Obviously poorly trained in effecting simple arrests it is clear that the techniques being taught at the academy are outdated.
This is a staple, we have seen it in far too many instances and what has the police hierarchy done? Absolutely nothing.
The leadership of the JCF has never really been high on quality leadership, in fact, the general gist of their understanding of their roles has always been ‘chief oppressors”.
The welfare of most has never been central to their mission and it could easily be argued that for many young smart members just entering the force the old guard would rather say farewell.
But this is not about what individual commanders do. It is about the fact that there is no discernable strategy of leadership which exist outside the posing for cameras from behind desks and the puffery inherent in their statements which seeks to separate themselves from the foot soldiers who are actually doing the work.
Senior Police officers in the streets is not a panacea for ensuring the protection and guidance of younger officers. In fact, as we have seen in Boscobel St.Mary rece3ntly, hooligans blocked streets and brought traffic to a standstill while Assistant Commissioner Norman Heywood stood there looking like a cockroach in a yard full of chickens, as bedlam reigned.
Norman Heywood’s Dereliction Of Duty A Disgrace And A Stain On The Constabulary…
If I had the power Heywood would have been out of the force and could only rejoin as a District Constable based on what I witnessed.
When senior officers are present it reduces the likelihood that younger officers will make some of the mistakes easily made by young officers.
It also reduces the likelihood of officers receiving bribes.
The authority of the rule of law must be respected or we must turn over the country to the murderers and rapists who control the streets and dispense with the charade.
That respect and deference must begin in Jamaica House, it must happen in Kings House and it must be enshrined and codified in Gordon House.
A young female constable came up to me early one morning at the Red Hills Police station, we had just returned from an operation. I was one of the detectives from Constant Spring who went to assist in the operation.
I was an acting corporal, she a constable.
She: Corporal I want a transfer from up here I cannot make any money”!
Me: You mean to tell me that they don’t pay you each month?
She moved away from me some, looked at me scornfully from head to toe, then slowly slithered away.
TIME TO DROP HANDS
With principled, no-nonsense sub-officers and gazetted officers engaged in day to day policing those officers with mal-intent are less inclined to engage in the disgusting practice of soliciting and accepting bribes.
It is beyond unconscionable, that young officers are set upon in the streets and when they respond the police high command is duplicitously silent.
How cowardly and spineless are these idiots if they cannot stand on the principles of the JCF Act and defend their subordinates?
Given the lack of leadership from those who are supposed to lead and the Andrew Holness Administration’s blinkered march to disempowering the police the men and women of the JCF must make a decision whether or not they want to risk imprisonment by arresting anyone.
They don’t want you to do your jobs then don’t do anything. Collect your salaries and go home to your families.
At a time when civilized nations are fully exploiting their full potentials given the technological advancements of the Internet and Social Media and other breakthroughs, Jamaica is hollering on the top of mountains about 1.1% economic growth.
Now I rather see 1.1 % growth than a recession in the economy but our country can do exponentially better. The only thing hampering our progress is the Government’s reluctance to enforce the laws and pass new ones which send a strong message that criminals have no sanctuary in our country.
The Jamaican Government,(Opposition party included ) cannot be dense to the extent it does not understand the consequences crime has on the economy.
According to a policy paper produced by the world bank a high rate of violent crime can have many adverse repercussions:
1 It has a negative impact on the investment climate and can deter or delay both
domestic and foreign investment, and hence growth.
2 It leads to higher cost of doing business, because of the need to employ
different forms of security, and diverts investment away from business
expansion and productivity improvement, and may lead to a less than
optimal operating strategy.
2 It leads to business losses, arising from looting, arson, theft, extortion, and
fraud.
3 It leads to loss of output because of reduced hours of operation (including
avoiding night shifts) or loss of workdays arising from outbreaks of
violence, and avoidance of some types of economic activity.
4 It also reduces output because of the temporary (from injury) or permanent
(from murder) exit of individuals from the labor force. In the latter case,
the loss is not just current output, but the output in the remaining years of
the individual’s working life.
5 It can also cause a permanent shut-down of firms or relocation to less
crime-prone countries.
2 It erodes the development of human capital as well as social capital and thus
constrains the potential for growth. The crime situation in Jamaica seems to be an
important reason for migration since the fear of crime significantly reduces the
quality of life. Crime and violence have also been blamed for slowing down the
rate of return of migrants back to Jamaica. Also, crime forces otherwise
productive individuals to occasionally exit the labor force because of violent
injury to themselves or close associates, or because of social unrest in the
community. Violence in some communities also causes schools to close
periodically. Moreover, home and community instability is not conducive to
learning and educational objectives.