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Friday, February 08, 2008
One of the country's most wanted men managed to slip through police checkpoints recently because unsuspecting motorists flashed their headlights to warn other drivers of police activity, Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds has confirmed.
According to Hinds, who heads Operation Kingfish, the police had received information that the wanted man was on the move and had set up checkpoints, as well as alerted cops already conducting operations along various routes between Kingston and Montego Bay.
"We did some assessments of his likely routes, but he went through the checkpoints because motorists flashed their headlights to warn other motorists that the police were on the road," said Hinds.
He declined to name the wanted man in order to protect the person who gave the police information about the fugitive's movements. However, he appealed to motorists to stop the practice, adding that it was causing the police "enormous problems" as fugitives were avoiding capture.
"There is no way of you knowing that the person you are flashing is not on his way to kill someone - maybe a member of your family," said ACP Hinds. "We do have very mobile criminals. Once the police have managed to prevent them from operating in one community, they move to other communities."
Hinds said it was a long-standing concern of the police that some motorists continue to flash their headlights to warn others of speed traps and other police activity. However, he cautioned that by engaging in the practice, motorists ran the risk of "unwittingly facilitating criminal activity".
One of the country's most wanted men managed to slip through police checkpoints recently because unsuspecting motorists flashed their headlights to warn other drivers of police activity, Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds has confirmed.
According to Hinds, who heads Operation Kingfish, the police had received information that the wanted man was on the move and had set up checkpoints, as well as alerted cops already conducting operations along various routes between Kingston and Montego Bay.
"We did some assessments of his likely routes, but he went through the checkpoints because motorists flashed their headlights to warn other motorists that the police were on the road," said Hinds.
He declined to name the wanted man in order to protect the person who gave the police information about the fugitive's movements. However, he appealed to motorists to stop the practice, adding that it was causing the police "enormous problems" as fugitives were avoiding capture.
"There is no way of you knowing that the person you are flashing is not on his way to kill someone - maybe a member of your family," said ACP Hinds. "We do have very mobile criminals. Once the police have managed to prevent them from operating in one community, they move to other communities."
Hinds said it was a long-standing concern of the police that some motorists continue to flash their headlights to warn others of speed traps and other police activity. However, he cautioned that by engaging in the practice, motorists ran the risk of "unwittingly facilitating criminal activity".
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