In the last couple of days I have written two Articles which are less than complimentary of the High command of the Jamaica Constabulary Force(JCF). In both instances I recommend firing the entire high command with the exception of a few who may have a record of accomplishment .In the interim however, I would like to offer to the Department a simple plan which will greatly impact policing, more-so in urban areas. Particularly in light of the attacks we have witnessed on Jamaican police officers and the relentless tax-payer funded witch-hunt by INDECOM
IMPORTANT
Policing as it was done before is no longer possible. It is important that if no one recognize it, the leadership of the police department do so. Superintendents and the commissioner ranks cannot exist as a vehicle to bully and intimidate the hard working rank and file of the department.
Throughout the existence of the department the leadership of the department has waged warfare against the rank and file it purports to lead. The great king of beast’s tail is not unconnected from it’s tail. The police high command disjointed and adversarial relationship with the men and women of the department who actually take the risks must come to an end.
Failure of leadership has forced many good officers from the department. In many cases the problems being experienced with younger officers can be laid firmly at the feet of the leadership whose relationship style increases the stress level of the men and women who actually do policing.
Over the years we have witnessed an increase in murder suicide and in some cases suicide by rank and file officers.
Some critics suggest the officers are just bullies who cannot control their urge to bully others. Other self appointed Gods have argued these officers are just controlling that’s why they kill their spouses and that’s why they kill their spouses and themselves. Try having problems with finances and other family issues and then being subjected to pressure on your job and see how you may have a different perspective on this issue.
Leadership is not about lording, it is about leading. The hallmark of a good leader is to criticize in private and praise publicly. The men and women of the department who really matter are neither being praised nor supported.
As the INDECOM Act empowers and radicalize ordinary people to fight and assault police officers under the banner “him caaaan shoot yu” . As Government past and present allows it to metastasize out of control . And as we witness that even effecting a simple arrest on a belligerent, violent female using no guns, no batons, no pepper spray, no taser, is being sold as police abuse on the island . The police high command must now act to protect officers.
There are far too many people at the upper end of the police department whom are not doing anything toward reducing crime. From the Commissioner of police down it appears some do not even feel a connecting with the force but are there solely for the paycheck. On the rare occasion the commissioner wears his uniform there is no belt to his uniform and absolutely no utility belt with a weapon and other accouterments of the trade.
The same is true of the female members of the Gazetted ranks . Do they believe their rank preclude them from doing the most rudimentary task of effecting an arrest.
Does their rank set them apart from getting dirty subduing a violent suspect? Can they even make an arrest? If no Huston we have a problem.
VIOLENT RESISTANCE AND INTERFERENCE IN ARRESTS
Jamaica has a history of putting these anti-police aggressors in position to militate against police, endangering the nation as a result.
Since the (indecom) Act was passed scores of Jamaicans have been killed over and above the norm before the act was passed, Conversely there are no increase in the numbers of rogue cops removed from the department as result of the law.
There is a serious issue of violent resistance against lawful arrest, and attacks on police officers on the Island. Factually this was not started by the creation of the INDECOM Act , it simply has taken on new life not just because of it’s creation, but because of the unwarranted acrimony it’s head has created, deliberately fanning the flames of anti-police sentiment on the Island.
People interfere in police activity because they believe there will be no penalty for their actions. As a young police officer I was incensed that the liberal leftist activist judges on the Island would summarily admonish and discharge criminals for assaulting police officer and resisting arrest . Even when the evidence supported the charges as they were laid .
By doing so there was tacit support from the bench to continue the practice of violently resisting arrest and assaulting officers sometimes seriously. Even when convicted the archaic laws offered only a slight slap on the wrist punitively.
Understanding fundamentally that my safety and security as a Jamaican police officer would not be helped by the Island’s legislature .Would not be helped by the Courts. Would not be assisted by the people under whose command I served, I built my own defense structure which worked perfectly until I departed the department.
That defense structure was an unprecedented, yet not unique no-nonsense strategy which became known real quickly . You F*** with that little cop and things will turn out really bad for you!
Because of the increased assault and violence against officers, police leadership must reduce response time, not just for calls to the 119 switch-board, but more importantly in getting appropriate backup to officers who demand it as rapidly as possible. When potential offenders know backup will flood the are in minutes if not seconds and they will be going to jail they will get the message.
No, the police can not change the attitudes of the criminal lovers who sit in the Island’s parliament . The police can do little to change the attitudes of the leftist activists on the bench but it can do a whole lot better in preserving officer safety.
After all that and only that is the number one priority.
You cannot secure anyone else if you cannot secure yourself.
Lets get rid of the senior officers giving interviews from behind desks. Let them get up off their fat asses and go out into the streets in support of the young officers. Policing is not about flossing and showing off . It’s about crime reduction and elimination.