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Stay the course, Commissioner Lewin
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Police Commissioner Hardley Lewin has received some amount of flak for his declared assault on breaches of the road traffic, night noise, anti-litter and environment laws.
The argument advanced in some circles is that the police need to concentrate their energies and limited resources on more serious crimes, such as murder and armed robberies, which have driven fear into the hearts of Jamaicans and tarnished the country's image as a vacation destination and a place to invest.
While we understand and empathise with this view, we must encourage Commissioner Lewin not to yield to the critics and sceptics, for we are convinced that if minor incivilities and breaches of the law are not controlled, they produce the atmosphere for the growth of more serious crimes.
Last week Wednesday, which was designated as the start of this increased activity and vigilance by the police, more than 1,000 offensive weapons were seized, five firearms were recovered and just under 10,000 vehicles were searched.
But it is not only about the number of weapons found or the arrests made. We strongly believe that for this initiative to succeed the police must also secure the confidence and support of the public, and based on our report, they have won some level of public support.
One woman who was stopped by the police in New Kingston said even though she was delayed, the police were very professional, and she encouraged them to keep it up "because this crime is too much now".
Another woman - a newspaper vendor - was appreciative of the increased police presence on the streets to "keep the peace".
While being tough on these quality-of-life social nuisances will help to fashion a mindset of respect for law and order, we must face the fact that toughness won't work beyond the point of people acknowledging that the police have not lost control of public spaces. Therefore, the police need to also increase their efforts at apprehending perpetrators of gun- and drug-related crimes, and securing their convictions with hard and comprehensive evidence.
At the same time, the Government needs to continue the police recruitment programme that gained great traction during Dr Peter Phillips' tenure as national security minister in the previous administration.
It is a strategy that Mr Rudolph Giuliani used to great effect after he was elected mayor of New York City in 1994. Mayor Giuliani increased the size of the New York Police Department from 28,700 to 30,500 by the end of 1994 and then to 40,300 in the year 2000.
This growth in human resources, complemented by improved collection, processing and use of crime data, greater focus on community policing to build trust with citizens, and the conversion of problems into action plans, resulted in dramatic reductions in crime in New York which, in 1990, was dubbed by Time magazine 'The Rotten Apple'.
Against that background, there is merit in Commissioner Lewin's plan to close police stations that are manned by three or four cops and place more police on the beat in the communities that these stations serve.
However, Commissioner Lewin needs to learn the art of selling this plan to the public or he will face resistance similar to that expressed by the residents of Exeter during his meeting with them two Fridays ago.
While we acknowledge that these strategies have budgetary implications, we are convinced that what is needed, more than money, is the will, energy and capacity to follow through and sustain these programmes.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Police Commissioner Hardley Lewin has received some amount of flak for his declared assault on breaches of the road traffic, night noise, anti-litter and environment laws.
The argument advanced in some circles is that the police need to concentrate their energies and limited resources on more serious crimes, such as murder and armed robberies, which have driven fear into the hearts of Jamaicans and tarnished the country's image as a vacation destination and a place to invest.
While we understand and empathise with this view, we must encourage Commissioner Lewin not to yield to the critics and sceptics, for we are convinced that if minor incivilities and breaches of the law are not controlled, they produce the atmosphere for the growth of more serious crimes.
Last week Wednesday, which was designated as the start of this increased activity and vigilance by the police, more than 1,000 offensive weapons were seized, five firearms were recovered and just under 10,000 vehicles were searched.
But it is not only about the number of weapons found or the arrests made. We strongly believe that for this initiative to succeed the police must also secure the confidence and support of the public, and based on our report, they have won some level of public support.
One woman who was stopped by the police in New Kingston said even though she was delayed, the police were very professional, and she encouraged them to keep it up "because this crime is too much now".
Another woman - a newspaper vendor - was appreciative of the increased police presence on the streets to "keep the peace".
While being tough on these quality-of-life social nuisances will help to fashion a mindset of respect for law and order, we must face the fact that toughness won't work beyond the point of people acknowledging that the police have not lost control of public spaces. Therefore, the police need to also increase their efforts at apprehending perpetrators of gun- and drug-related crimes, and securing their convictions with hard and comprehensive evidence.
At the same time, the Government needs to continue the police recruitment programme that gained great traction during Dr Peter Phillips' tenure as national security minister in the previous administration.
It is a strategy that Mr Rudolph Giuliani used to great effect after he was elected mayor of New York City in 1994. Mayor Giuliani increased the size of the New York Police Department from 28,700 to 30,500 by the end of 1994 and then to 40,300 in the year 2000.
This growth in human resources, complemented by improved collection, processing and use of crime data, greater focus on community policing to build trust with citizens, and the conversion of problems into action plans, resulted in dramatic reductions in crime in New York which, in 1990, was dubbed by Time magazine 'The Rotten Apple'.
Against that background, there is merit in Commissioner Lewin's plan to close police stations that are manned by three or four cops and place more police on the beat in the communities that these stations serve.
However, Commissioner Lewin needs to learn the art of selling this plan to the public or he will face resistance similar to that expressed by the residents of Exeter during his meeting with them two Fridays ago.
While we acknowledge that these strategies have budgetary implications, we are convinced that what is needed, more than money, is the will, energy and capacity to follow through and sustain these programmes.
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