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Will the good cops please stand up?
HEART TO HEART
With Betty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Dear Reader,
Once again the matter of corruption in the police force has taken centre stage, following a comment made by the Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green in which he reportedly said that some of the murdered police personnel were involved in criminal activities. Les Green's remarks were made on the heels of the murder of Constable Delroy Brown who was shot dead in the Seaview Gardens community of Kingston less than two weeks ago.
WILSON... called for Les Green's resignation
No sooner than Green's statement aired, the head of the Police Federation, Sergeant Raymond Wilson, fired back calling publicly for Green's recantation or his resignation. Wilson described Green's comments as "insensitive" and "ill-timed". The following day it was reported that Les Green was not recanting and was in fact sticking to his original statement. He was quoted in the Gleaner of October 27 as saying, "I can produce the evidence, but I will not be putting it out in the public arena," and insisting that his comments were not insensitive.
Interestingly enough, only a day later, October 28, this newspaper carried a story, "Ganja found in slain cop's car". For those who supported Les Green the revelation was vindication for him, and conversely, for Raymond Wilson and the Police Federation, I suspect somewhat of an embarrassment.
As the public weighed in on the controversy, the view that significant elements in the police force are corrupt seemed to dominate the discussion. Whether we agree or disagree with Les Green, and to my mind there was justification for the criticism of the timing of the ACP's comments, it is clear that the Jamaica Constabulary Force has a huge problem of public perception and public trust. So it's of little surprise that Les Green's comments fell on very receptive ears.
Then only days after, more fuel was added to the fire when, speaking at a forum on national security organised by the Opposition People's National Party, another UK police officer and former Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields said he didn't believe that the JCF could be salvaged and he felt that the entire force should be disbanded.
Even while tempers continue to flare in some quarters, there is an increasingly sober recognition and acceptance that the JCF is unsalvageable. Long before the arrival of the UK police officers, high-ranking members of the JCF had on occasion publicly chided their own colleagues for corruption in the force. So as angry as the Federation is, Les Green and Mark Shields are not telling Jamaicans anything that we haven't already heard.
As far as I am concerned, the JCF has bigger problems than the current dialectic. The federation is going to have to tell us whether the accusations of corruption are true and if they are, what exactly the federation plans to do about it.
Despite the cacophony of criticisms, I believe that the federation can do something about its declining image, and can it infact begin an internal clean-up campaign. Instead of trying to defend the indefensible, the police federation must now go on the offensive and begin to rid itself of the corrupt cops from within its ranks.
As tempting as the idea is of disbanding the entire force, I fervently believe that the JCF can be fixed with the establishment of "independent" bodies of investigation, with the right kind of leadership, and with the cooperation of key police officers and entities.
There has got to be a cadre of officers who are prepared to stand up and be counted, and are willing to lead the clean-up campaign. As I see it, a good place to start would be with that influential organisation in the force - the Christian Police Officers Association. Religious connotations aside, it seems clear to me that this group made up of more than 500 police personnel, some representing the highest ranks in the JCF, is the most natural and suitable vanguard for a reformist campaign. The Christian Police Officers Association should not only be agitating for the removal and dismissal of all dirty cops from the force, it should be the most vocal group within the wider society, taking moral and principled stances when critical issues affecting the JCF are being discussed and debated.
Let me hasten to say that I am aware that there is an element of fear operating within the JCF in which whistle-blowing is seen as a serious betrayal of trust and loyalty. Add to that the strong links between politicians and criminal elements in the society and it is easy to understand why the corruption in the force has been so difficult to root out, and why the good elements in the force have been so silent.
But the defining moment is now, and the clean cops must now choose which side they are on - whether the side of good or the side of evil. Of course, we the public have a big role to play, because without a "corrupter" there can be no "corruptee".
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/efg/
HEART TO HEART
With Betty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Dear Reader,
Once again the matter of corruption in the police force has taken centre stage, following a comment made by the Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green in which he reportedly said that some of the murdered police personnel were involved in criminal activities. Les Green's remarks were made on the heels of the murder of Constable Delroy Brown who was shot dead in the Seaview Gardens community of Kingston less than two weeks ago.
WILSON... called for Les Green's resignation
No sooner than Green's statement aired, the head of the Police Federation, Sergeant Raymond Wilson, fired back calling publicly for Green's recantation or his resignation. Wilson described Green's comments as "insensitive" and "ill-timed". The following day it was reported that Les Green was not recanting and was in fact sticking to his original statement. He was quoted in the Gleaner of October 27 as saying, "I can produce the evidence, but I will not be putting it out in the public arena," and insisting that his comments were not insensitive.
Interestingly enough, only a day later, October 28, this newspaper carried a story, "Ganja found in slain cop's car". For those who supported Les Green the revelation was vindication for him, and conversely, for Raymond Wilson and the Police Federation, I suspect somewhat of an embarrassment.
As the public weighed in on the controversy, the view that significant elements in the police force are corrupt seemed to dominate the discussion. Whether we agree or disagree with Les Green, and to my mind there was justification for the criticism of the timing of the ACP's comments, it is clear that the Jamaica Constabulary Force has a huge problem of public perception and public trust. So it's of little surprise that Les Green's comments fell on very receptive ears.
Then only days after, more fuel was added to the fire when, speaking at a forum on national security organised by the Opposition People's National Party, another UK police officer and former Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields said he didn't believe that the JCF could be salvaged and he felt that the entire force should be disbanded.
Even while tempers continue to flare in some quarters, there is an increasingly sober recognition and acceptance that the JCF is unsalvageable. Long before the arrival of the UK police officers, high-ranking members of the JCF had on occasion publicly chided their own colleagues for corruption in the force. So as angry as the Federation is, Les Green and Mark Shields are not telling Jamaicans anything that we haven't already heard.
As far as I am concerned, the JCF has bigger problems than the current dialectic. The federation is going to have to tell us whether the accusations of corruption are true and if they are, what exactly the federation plans to do about it.
Despite the cacophony of criticisms, I believe that the federation can do something about its declining image, and can it infact begin an internal clean-up campaign. Instead of trying to defend the indefensible, the police federation must now go on the offensive and begin to rid itself of the corrupt cops from within its ranks.
As tempting as the idea is of disbanding the entire force, I fervently believe that the JCF can be fixed with the establishment of "independent" bodies of investigation, with the right kind of leadership, and with the cooperation of key police officers and entities.
There has got to be a cadre of officers who are prepared to stand up and be counted, and are willing to lead the clean-up campaign. As I see it, a good place to start would be with that influential organisation in the force - the Christian Police Officers Association. Religious connotations aside, it seems clear to me that this group made up of more than 500 police personnel, some representing the highest ranks in the JCF, is the most natural and suitable vanguard for a reformist campaign. The Christian Police Officers Association should not only be agitating for the removal and dismissal of all dirty cops from the force, it should be the most vocal group within the wider society, taking moral and principled stances when critical issues affecting the JCF are being discussed and debated.
Let me hasten to say that I am aware that there is an element of fear operating within the JCF in which whistle-blowing is seen as a serious betrayal of trust and loyalty. Add to that the strong links between politicians and criminal elements in the society and it is easy to understand why the corruption in the force has been so difficult to root out, and why the good elements in the force have been so silent.
But the defining moment is now, and the clean cops must now choose which side they are on - whether the side of good or the side of evil. Of course, we the public have a big role to play, because without a "corrupter" there can be no "corruptee".
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/efg/
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