People who decide to be Police Officers has to be a special breed, after all in places like Jamaica it cannot be because of the money. Police officers risk their lives every day in order to keep the rest of us safe. In some countries and locales the risk are somewhat greater than others.
Police in Mexico sometimes wear masks:
Yet a police officer never knows what is going to happen when he/she initiates a simple traffic stop . As such a police officer must always be on guard to protect his/her life. Something hardly anyone else has to do at work in a given day. Many argue that police officers make the choice willingly so they shouldn’t speak of the risks. The inference being that free-will diminishes or reduces the legitimacy of the argument concerning the risks.
Police in the United States sometime wear masks:
Over the last few years one of the charge leveled against certain units within the Jamaica Constabulary Force is that officers wear masks on certain operations.
The arguments put forth by concerned parties is that police officers are more likely to abuse citizens rights if they know they cannot be identified. This is a legitimate concern that should be addressed.
Police officers should be given all the tools they need so they may effectively do what we ask them to do, which is to protect us. At the top of that list and of utmost importance is officer-safety.What that means is that the officer’s security is paramount, his life must first be secured.
Cops in Egypt wearing masks:
On the other hand the rights of citizens must be protected. Police officers cannot have carte-blanche to abuse citizens. In the process of striking the balance between accountability and officer-safety, we are forced to rely on the integrity of those we empower and arm, to do the right thing by us, the people they are sworn to protect and serve.
Cops in Haiti wear masks:
So the discussion comes down, not to whether cops may wear masks on certain occasions, but to the quality of the people whom we empower to be police officers. Many who position themselves as commentators of everything police does, has zero knowledge of the dynamics or what it takes to be a cop in Jamaica. Frankly some simply do not care. Many in positions to shape legislation argues that not enough police officers are getting shot.
Some in the Media gave people advice to stone police stations years ago, others encourage them to fight police officers. politicians distribute guns to kill people , cops included.
There are a few reasons why cops sometimes wear face-masks on certain operations, chief among them are.
♦ They are working undercover.
♦To keep their identities secret.
♦ Protecting themselves and their families from reprisals.
♦ As a safety precaution.
If an Officer wears a mask because that officer wants to conceal wrong-doing on his/her part, that officer has already crossed the line, he is a criminal .
In Jamaica the need for officers to be careful cannot be over-emphasized, Jamaican criminals like to kill cops.
Noted Jamaican Doctor Garth Rattray was adamant in his column in the daily gleaner when he stated .
Quote:A patient of mine who is a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) was maintaining a police presence, parked in a marked police vehicle, close to an intersection with a very major thoroughfare in St Andrew. As he observed the traffic and the general surroundings, a young man emerged from a neighbouring depressed community. He walked right up to the driver’s side window and calmly announced, “One a unnu kill one a wi so wi a go kill back one a unnu.” The messenger then disappeared back into the bowels of his honeycombed community.http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130520/cleisure/cleisure3.html
This is what Jamaican police officers have to deal with, in a small country that is roughly 4411 square miles. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who knows where someone lives. It is no wonder then that Police officers are being killed in the own homes. (See blog-posts on this site dealing with this issue.)
Many people believe police officers have firearms to take home. Guess again , many officers are forced to hand over the weapons they use on the job and are left to the mercy of Jamaican criminals by the hierarchy of the police force, some officers have acquired private weapons, not all, those without are left to fend for themselves.
Why are Jamaican cops precluded from wearing masks when they are much more likely to be killed than their international counterparts?
When the Police Commissioner acquiesces to the dictates of Reactionary forces which are hell-bent on making Jamaican a criminal Utopia, police officers die.
There is an bunch of Elitist in Jamaica who are spear-heading this assault on the safety of police officers, they are strategically positioned to do innumerable damage to the the rule of law and the lives of ordinary Jamaican cops, they are succeeding in this endeavor with the tacit acquiescence of the Police high-command who are largely political lap-dogs.
Heading that list is.
♦Carolyn Gomes heads the group which calls itself Jamaicans for justice or (JFJ).
♦Earl Witter mediocre criminal lawyer now given the job created obviously for him , Public Defender.
♦Terrence Williams Commissioner , power hungry wannabe-cop ‚appointed to the new agency INDECOM.
♦Horace Levy self promoter and head of the so-called Peace Management Unit.
These are all positions which which are at odds with law-enforcement in the small Caribbean Island of Jamaica, these are not the only ones but they are among the primary ones who grand-stand at the expense of the Jamaican police.The tragedy is that when they do, police officers die.
Witter and Gomes vehemently asserts ‚that in order for the number of civilians killed to be more believable more cops would have to be killed. That kind of atrocious statement could not come from the mouth of any person who wanted to retain any degree of public support in any developing/ed country except Jamaica. Carolyn Gomes received the Order of Jamaica. The others are lining up for their awards from the criminally complicit Government(government not confined to party).
Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the world, many argue that crime is a direct result of poverty and lack of opportunities. Yet there are countries which have significantly lower standard of living where crime is substantially lower than Jamaica.
You ask what is it that differentiates Jamaica from those countries? The simple answer is “village lawyers”, most of us present ourselves as an authority and have an opinion on everything.
We are impressed by stuff like, color, money, big houses, cars and Degrees, so it matters not that a person who is a Pediatrician knows nothing about law-enforcement. That person’s opinion is valued aver that of the real pros. But it goes even deeper than that.
The policies being followed are costing the lives of cops, no one speaks for the cops who are being slaughtered, the forces headed by the charlatans above, are silent when cops are killed. Many people are now asking the question why?
We don’t need crocodile tears from them, what we have seen so far tells us what side they are on. The question is , has the Jamaican people realized who their enemies are . I really don’t care for a lot of cops in the JCF , never did, in fact some of them deserve to be treated like second-class citizens in the job they dedicate their lives to. Many of them deserve to have that power-hungry ego-maniacal ‚narcissistic shit-head Terrence Williams give speeches to other shit-heads about what police are supposed to do and what they aren’t supposed to wear. The top-tier or the police department, with the exception of a few, are simply political hacks who simply do as they are told.
What I care about is the future of Jamaica, left up to Williams and others the police would be back in short pants walking the beat. Guys like Williams are a new breed of radicals who believe they have the answers, but are only about self aggrandizement and climbing on the backs of others to get to where they want to get to.
The Police high command is simply useless and pathetic.
wow…this rings of so much truth !!!
I wonder who will begin to do something for us as Police, we have family too who are looking out and depending on us! For Christ sake leaders do something.