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Which bullet costs US$200? Steeeuuuppps.
Also, since when does M-16 have hollow point buttets?
Size matters
HENLEY MORGAN
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Jamaica is at war on several fronts. In the mid-1990s the Patterson government declared war against poverty. There is also a war being waged against crime and violence. It is a proven fact that one set of victims seriously affected by poverty - unemployed young males between 17 and 24 years old - are the perpetrators of much of the crime and violence. It is a vicious cycle.
Mahatma Gandhi was right in making the observation that jobs, and not bullets, are the armaments with which the war against poverty and crime will be ultimately won. Youth unemployment, particularly in garrison communities, is at the root of the unprecedented level of crime and violence threatening to overwhelm the nation. Those who are depending on police action alone to solve the crime problem are going to be sorely disappointed.
Having said that, there is the reality of approximately 1,500 murders being committed every year; statistics which place Jamaica near the top of the murder capitals of the world. On the average, over 20 policemen lose their lives each year to criminals; again a world-leading statistic. The enemy commonly referred to as gunmen or "shottas" also take a lot of casualties, approaching 200 per year. Let's not fool ourselves: at the street level it is war; real war like we hear reported on radio and television taking place in other parts of the world.
It is in the context of the daily reality of the threat faced by law-abiding citizens and by police officers as they carry out their sworn duty to maintain law and order that the wisdom of a decision by Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin to replace the standard issue M-16 rifle with the less lethal MP-5 sub-machine gun must be assessed. I am not a ballistics expert, and neither is the police commissioner as he readily admitted on a recent radio talk show, but we both know, as does everyone reading this newspaper column, that whether it is the Americans facing down the militarily ambitious Soviets intent on deploying nuclear missiles in Cuba, or the police facing determined gunmen in a tough zinc-fenced Jamaican garrison community, the man who has the less potent (smaller) weapon is the man who is going to blink first; meaning, all things being equal, in the heat of battle the man with the inferior weapon will have to retreat.
Again, this is complicated stuff best left to the experts, but as I understand it, a rifle is classified on the basis of the type of action it employs and on the size or calibre of ammunition it fires. In retiring the American-made M-16 and going to the German made MP-5, there will be a gain in calibre, but serious diminishing of velocity and range. What I have heard discussed most, though, is the fact that the M-16 uses expanded or the so-called hollow-point bullet, which explodes or changes shape on impact, thereby creating a larger wound and more serious trauma or shock. Hit with one of these, the victim has little chance of survival. It is true that police forces worldwide and even armies are choosing weapons which give the shooter better options for disabling and not necessarily killing the opposing number.
There is no doubt that Rear Admiral Lewin, a brilliant and well-thinking tactician, has carefully balanced the pros and cons attendant to his decision. He has been quoted as saying, "No policeman is going to be asked to go out there and put his or her life in danger." Based on his track record in the army and his performance thus far in the new post, the commissioner can be taken at his word.
I only ask that the following two pieces of information be taken into consideration. First, the amount of fire power already in the hands of the criminals is considerable. I was alarmed to learn that a modified Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle, commonplace in the arsenal of inner-city gangs, carries up to 101 rounds. At US$250 per round, it costs US$25,250 to load one of these killing machines. Yet, it is nothing for an unemployed youth to empty one at will, reload and keep repeating the cycle sometimes for hours. Second, those of us who live or work in troubled inner-city or garrison communities can attest to hearing the sound of explosions reverberating as one set of youths will dispense volleys of ammunition into the atmosphere in a display of firepower, then the opposing force will answer in like fashion, as a test of strength before an attack is launched. If an arms race is on, it's between the warring factions. The criminals are going to be increasing their firepower even if the police reduce theirs to catapults.
One is tempted to be cynical about yet another announcement in the aftermath of an extra-judicial or accidental killing by the police about how the JCF intends to better control the use of force. The Report of the National Committee on Crime and Violence, published October, 2001 and still the best crime plan yet, contains the following recommendation: Institutionalise continuous training in the use of firearms in the shortest time. The recommendation is accompanied by the following text: "There has been a noticeable increase in charges coming from the public of trigger-happy policemen who shoot to kill or (paradoxically) who shoot and miss. There are policemen who have not been on a shooting range in over 10 years. This seems at the present time to be more the norm than the exception". Had this recommendation been implemented, maybe we would not now be faced with this latest pronouncement with its far-reaching implications.
It is not surprising that the human rights groups, Jamaicans for Justice and Families against State Terrorism were quick on the draw in backing the commissioner of police's decision to remove the M-16 from regular policing. However, their celebration could be short-lived if we find that an out-gunned police force has to rely more on the army and the Mobile Reserve with superior firepower to come to their aid, thereby creating an additional human rights problem of increased military and para-military engagement of civilians.
The commissioner of police needs to be careful with his public utterances and the timing of the implementation relating to his stated policy. At least, in the psychology of warfare, size does matter.
hmorgan@cwjamaica.com
Also, since when does M-16 have hollow point buttets?
Size matters
HENLEY MORGAN
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Jamaica is at war on several fronts. In the mid-1990s the Patterson government declared war against poverty. There is also a war being waged against crime and violence. It is a proven fact that one set of victims seriously affected by poverty - unemployed young males between 17 and 24 years old - are the perpetrators of much of the crime and violence. It is a vicious cycle.
Mahatma Gandhi was right in making the observation that jobs, and not bullets, are the armaments with which the war against poverty and crime will be ultimately won. Youth unemployment, particularly in garrison communities, is at the root of the unprecedented level of crime and violence threatening to overwhelm the nation. Those who are depending on police action alone to solve the crime problem are going to be sorely disappointed.
Having said that, there is the reality of approximately 1,500 murders being committed every year; statistics which place Jamaica near the top of the murder capitals of the world. On the average, over 20 policemen lose their lives each year to criminals; again a world-leading statistic. The enemy commonly referred to as gunmen or "shottas" also take a lot of casualties, approaching 200 per year. Let's not fool ourselves: at the street level it is war; real war like we hear reported on radio and television taking place in other parts of the world.
It is in the context of the daily reality of the threat faced by law-abiding citizens and by police officers as they carry out their sworn duty to maintain law and order that the wisdom of a decision by Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin to replace the standard issue M-16 rifle with the less lethal MP-5 sub-machine gun must be assessed. I am not a ballistics expert, and neither is the police commissioner as he readily admitted on a recent radio talk show, but we both know, as does everyone reading this newspaper column, that whether it is the Americans facing down the militarily ambitious Soviets intent on deploying nuclear missiles in Cuba, or the police facing determined gunmen in a tough zinc-fenced Jamaican garrison community, the man who has the less potent (smaller) weapon is the man who is going to blink first; meaning, all things being equal, in the heat of battle the man with the inferior weapon will have to retreat.
Again, this is complicated stuff best left to the experts, but as I understand it, a rifle is classified on the basis of the type of action it employs and on the size or calibre of ammunition it fires. In retiring the American-made M-16 and going to the German made MP-5, there will be a gain in calibre, but serious diminishing of velocity and range. What I have heard discussed most, though, is the fact that the M-16 uses expanded or the so-called hollow-point bullet, which explodes or changes shape on impact, thereby creating a larger wound and more serious trauma or shock. Hit with one of these, the victim has little chance of survival. It is true that police forces worldwide and even armies are choosing weapons which give the shooter better options for disabling and not necessarily killing the opposing number.
There is no doubt that Rear Admiral Lewin, a brilliant and well-thinking tactician, has carefully balanced the pros and cons attendant to his decision. He has been quoted as saying, "No policeman is going to be asked to go out there and put his or her life in danger." Based on his track record in the army and his performance thus far in the new post, the commissioner can be taken at his word.
I only ask that the following two pieces of information be taken into consideration. First, the amount of fire power already in the hands of the criminals is considerable. I was alarmed to learn that a modified Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle, commonplace in the arsenal of inner-city gangs, carries up to 101 rounds. At US$250 per round, it costs US$25,250 to load one of these killing machines. Yet, it is nothing for an unemployed youth to empty one at will, reload and keep repeating the cycle sometimes for hours. Second, those of us who live or work in troubled inner-city or garrison communities can attest to hearing the sound of explosions reverberating as one set of youths will dispense volleys of ammunition into the atmosphere in a display of firepower, then the opposing force will answer in like fashion, as a test of strength before an attack is launched. If an arms race is on, it's between the warring factions. The criminals are going to be increasing their firepower even if the police reduce theirs to catapults.
One is tempted to be cynical about yet another announcement in the aftermath of an extra-judicial or accidental killing by the police about how the JCF intends to better control the use of force. The Report of the National Committee on Crime and Violence, published October, 2001 and still the best crime plan yet, contains the following recommendation: Institutionalise continuous training in the use of firearms in the shortest time. The recommendation is accompanied by the following text: "There has been a noticeable increase in charges coming from the public of trigger-happy policemen who shoot to kill or (paradoxically) who shoot and miss. There are policemen who have not been on a shooting range in over 10 years. This seems at the present time to be more the norm than the exception". Had this recommendation been implemented, maybe we would not now be faced with this latest pronouncement with its far-reaching implications.
It is not surprising that the human rights groups, Jamaicans for Justice and Families against State Terrorism were quick on the draw in backing the commissioner of police's decision to remove the M-16 from regular policing. However, their celebration could be short-lived if we find that an out-gunned police force has to rely more on the army and the Mobile Reserve with superior firepower to come to their aid, thereby creating an additional human rights problem of increased military and para-military engagement of civilians.
The commissioner of police needs to be careful with his public utterances and the timing of the implementation relating to his stated policy. At least, in the psychology of warfare, size does matter.
hmorgan@cwjamaica.com
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