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Friday, February 29, 2008
MONTEGO BAY, St James - The police high command intends to procure "less-than-lethal" weapons for members of the police force in an effort to lower their reliance on deadly force, according to the police chief, Hardley Lewin.
LEWIN. the whole face of policing and the philosophy of policing has to change
"We have been most unfair to our police officers who go out on the street. Their first reaction is to pull their guns because they don't have available a range of options, other than resorting to deadly force. We are examining (this) with a view to acquiring some less-than-lethal options in the shortest possible time," Lewin told a public forum hosted here Wednesday by the Police (Civilian Oversight) Authority.
The option of non-lethal weapons, said the police commissioner, was previously available to the local police, but has "simply disappeared".
"We have to fix that because it is critical," he added. "It can't be that you have to shoot a man because he attacked you with a toothpick. so we are going to deal with that very quickly," said Lewin.
According to Commissioner Lewin, community policing would also be part of four 'strategic priorities' being considered by the constabulary.
"The whole face of policing and the philosophy of policing has to change. This is not something that I am introducing into the force, it has been here since 1988; the fact of the matter is nobody has done anything about it. When you check the corporate strategy from 1998 it is clearly laid out community policing," the commissioner said. The process would, as of now, be "driven from the top", he said.
MONTEGO BAY, St James - The police high command intends to procure "less-than-lethal" weapons for members of the police force in an effort to lower their reliance on deadly force, according to the police chief, Hardley Lewin.
LEWIN. the whole face of policing and the philosophy of policing has to change
"We have been most unfair to our police officers who go out on the street. Their first reaction is to pull their guns because they don't have available a range of options, other than resorting to deadly force. We are examining (this) with a view to acquiring some less-than-lethal options in the shortest possible time," Lewin told a public forum hosted here Wednesday by the Police (Civilian Oversight) Authority.
The option of non-lethal weapons, said the police commissioner, was previously available to the local police, but has "simply disappeared".
"We have to fix that because it is critical," he added. "It can't be that you have to shoot a man because he attacked you with a toothpick. so we are going to deal with that very quickly," said Lewin.
According to Commissioner Lewin, community policing would also be part of four 'strategic priorities' being considered by the constabulary.
"The whole face of policing and the philosophy of policing has to change. This is not something that I am introducing into the force, it has been here since 1988; the fact of the matter is nobody has done anything about it. When you check the corporate strategy from 1998 it is clearly laid out community policing," the commissioner said. The process would, as of now, be "driven from the top", he said.