A Joint Select Committee of the Jamaican Parliament has requested oversight of (indecom) . This after the Police the JDF and Director of Public Prosecution has formally made known their disquiet with the operational tenets of the Agency and more so it’s Commissioner Terrence Williams>
Williams who is on his second term as Commissioner uses the Agency as a personal tool of vendetta against law enforcement, berating, harassing the police agency as well demeaning the DPP’s office when his wishes are not adhered to on his timeline.
Additionally Williams have done immeasurable harm to the neophyte agency from its inception by in-advisedly aligning the agency with forces openly hostile to the police and military.
For all intents and purposes the well of goodwill which ought to exist between the JCF, JDF, Corrections and (indecom) has been seriously poisoned.
As a result (indecom) is arguably hardly as effective as it would be had it not pursued an adversarial path with the agencies over which it has oversight.
The Parliamentary committee say oversight is for ensuring internal accountability and oversight of the management of the organisation.
It’s important to note that the (indecom) Act came into existence (signed into law) under the JLP and Bruce Golding.
It was no surprise that Opposition member, Delroy Chuck’s position is that he could only support an oversight board as a purely review body.
In other words he supports a toothless paper tiger as oversight of an agency many believe clearly is out of control.
In other words despite the failings of the law and the hundreds of dead Jamaicans each year as a result of police pulling back Delroy Chuck sees no need to have supervision of Williams and (indecom).
Minister of National Security Peter Bunting insisted that a submission from the director of public prosecutions pointed to the need “to hold the deliberative process to a higher standard and to heighten accountability within (indecom)”.
Lets remember that it was the continued overstepping of his bounds which prompted the DPP to make a submission to the Parliament that Williams was a loose cannon dangerously out of control.
Bunting to this point seem to be the only person within the political apparatus from either side of the political aisle with an iota of operational; brain cell . Bunting maintained ” if members of the security forces conclude that engaging armed violent criminals is a ‘no win’ exercise for them, then we run the risk of facilitating criminal impunity with obvious adverse consequences to society,”.
This publication and this writer have maintained that perspective from the inception of (indecom).
I have been accused of wanting carte blanche for the police, those who know me know this is the furthest thing from the truth.
I also advocated proper oversight of the police, one which is fully aware of what we ask police officers to do and the commensurate need which comes with that.
That there be latitude in the interpretations of their actions.
This perspective have earned me the ire of some police officers who view that position as anti-police as well , go figure?
As I have maintained from the very beginning no one in his right mind could argue that the police do not need keen oversight and expect to be taken seriously .
I have am also of the opinion that the answer to corruption in the JCF is not (indecom) as it is configured.
The creation of (indecom) is merely another layer of Governmental bureaucracy which is not only costing the Jamaican people dearly in terms of dollars and cents but in blood and other treasures as well.
The monies wasted on (indecom) could have been invested in the police department making it a 21st century police agency capable of dealing with emerging threats.
Conversely what we have is yet another layer of bureaucracy which we are now learning will need another layer of you guessed it , bureaucracy.
CRIME NOW REQUIRE NEW THINKING IS SECURITY APPARATUS UP TO THE TASK…
The Jamaican people and Government thus far is beholden to the old adage of not looking a gift horse in the mouth .
The help coming into the country to (indecom) subsequently avoids scrutiny, so too are the motives of the donors. Never mind that law enforcement is paramount in the donor countries.
Nothing shackles law enforcement in their countries.
Jamaicans steadfastly refuse to ask themselves why are they helping to shackle the police ? Why would they not help the police to control crime?
Terrence Williams points to the reduction in police shootings as a metric for what he wants the country to believe is (indecom’s) success. What he does not point to is that murders have increased over 22% over the corresponding period the previous year . Oh and by the way that year also saw an increase over the previous year .
As long as the goal remains the preservation of the Island’s criminals then Terrence Williams and (indecom) are doing a great job . Hundreds and hundreds of dead Jamaicans be damned.
INDECOM.….. what goes around will come back around