The Jamaica Constabulary Force once had as its Core function three things: (1) The Prevention And Detection Of Crime, The Preservation Of Peace And Good Order, and (3) The Protection Of Life And Property.
Long ago, when I served, those were the operating tenets… I must admit it has been many years since I departed, and the Force has gone through many changes even though the fundamental need for police remains under the umbrella of those three foundational principles.
If the police department becomes good at those three principles, the nation’s violent crime rate will decrease despite the many attendant contributors to crime.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force has never been good at anything, least of all harnessing the skills of the people within the department to benefit the service. It has never been good at continuity; it has been particularly derelict in dealing with crime and could reasonably be accused of resting on its laurels, awaiting good outcomes.
The best thing that has happened to the JCF has been the talented, brave officers who have been a part of the agency from its inception. The worst thing to happen to the JCF has been the ineptitude of the leadership since its inception.
I am not naïve to the ever-present and obligatory dark shadow that has hovered over the force that has exponentially hindered the force from carrying out its mandate. This dark shadow of political interference has been both by co-mission and omission. Direct interference, on the one hand, and refusal to pass adequate laws to aid in the reduction of crime have been the crimes of both political parties in our country.
The police department must operate under the rule of the constitution with respect for all rights, but the police [must]have a free hand to enforce the laws impartially without favor, malice, or ill will.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force has never had the option of operating without the ever-present dark shadow of political interference. Within Jamaican society, there is a plethora of ticky-ticky fish who harbor the notion that the laws do not apply to them. The list includes politicians, judges, lawyers, public sector workers, their friends and family, and ever damn Tom, Dick, and Harry who knows somebody who knows somebody.
Ultimately, there is hardly anyone left for the police to arrest. This has not gone unnoticed by the powerless who don’t know anyone who knows anyone. And so, our little island has become a criminal-free-for-all, a paradise for criminals, police included in the mix.
Having said that, the police department can do a much better job than it has done, all things considered. After all, much of what the police are tasked with doing has been done before, and there is a wealth of information on how to do the job more effectively.
It has gotten so bad for the country because of the ineptitude of the JCF that murderers now videotape themselves burying the corpses of the people they kill and then do voice recordings explaining the why, what, and how of their actions.
The JCF was never an agency that was ever ahead of the criminal networks in our country, mainly because the criminal networks have always had political cover and poor police leadership.
Successes of the police over the decades have never been a consequence of top-down leadership and policies but a result of individual officers who laid it all on the line for the country’s good.
It made sense, therefore, that the heads of the criminal networks that the nation was rid of were made possible by The American Government and the hard work of the Rank and file of the JCF. I challenge anyone to point me to a major crime syndicate head being chopped off by the Jamaican Government or the High Command of the Police Department.
In fact, the Jamaican Government has steadfastly stood in the way of both the hard-working police officers and the American’s effort to root out known crime syndicate heads.
We are in 2023, about to step into a new year, and the most basic steps necessary in law enforcement are still not being pursued by the JCF hierarchy. The nation’s roads are race tracks for taxi drivers, minibusses, and private motorists who overtake long traffic lines around corners, downhill, uphill, and on the sidewalks at breakneck speeds without police crackdown.
The Government and the Police commissioner have all but ceded the streets to the lawless drivers. Driving on Jamaican roads is the equivalent of playing Russian Roulette. Every year, hundreds are killed in traffic crashes that the pathetic media calls traffic accidents. Accidents are caused by circumstances outside the victim’s control. Crashes are caused by direct action or inaction of offenders, resulting in the end result. Speeding, and other breaches of the Road Traffic Act. Last year, 2022, 488 Jamaicans perished on the Island’s roads and highways largely because of the actions of moronic Jackasses who breach the road traffic laws without consequence. Where are the traffic cops?
As of November 27th, 2023, a total of 373 lives were extinguished on the nation’s roads. This unnecessary loss of life and the trauma is a consequence of excessive speeds, overtaking around corners, driving too fast on wet roads, and driving motorcycles at high speeds without helmets are the main reasons why we are having these fatal collisions,’ on ACP of police told the press. Still no remedial action of note other than begging drivers to stop.
The same strategy is employed as it relates to violent crimes. The police have been relegated to begging criminals to stop.
Reminds me of Nancy Reagan’s strategy for drug users, ‘just say no’.
Laughable.
I am mindful of the concerns of some of my former colleagues, who will chastize me for being so hard on the police when of course, there are other players that are seriously driving the nation’s crime rate, notably the communist judges who seem to have sworn an oath to destroy the country. From the highest perch to the lowest court these communists that emerged from the Norman Manley Law School are dead set on ensuring that dangerous murderers are returned to the streets.
More to say about that.…..
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Mike Beckles is a former Police Detective, businessman, freelance writer, black achiever honoree, and creator of the blog mikebeckles.com.Check mike out on Youtube @ Mikebeckles