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EDITORIAL - Denham Town Shootings And Trusting The Police
Published: Wednesday | March 7, 20126 Comments
This newspaper is acutely aware of the difficult circumstances within which the police in Jamaica work. They are, too often, confronted by dangerously violent criminals, some of them armed with high-powered guns.
Indeed, in the three years to 2011, 31 police personnel were murdered in Jamaica, most of them either in the line of duty or merely for the fact of their membership in the Jamaica Constabulary Force or its auxiliaries.
The killing of police here is part of the broader context of Jamaica's high level of crime. With more than 1,000 homicides a year, Jamaica has one of the world's highest murder rates which, despite last year's 32 per cent decline, was still nearly 42 per 100,000 of population.
This hostile environment demands a constabulary that is not only technically proficient, but professional and accountable. The latter point is important.
The constabulary in a democracy can only police effectively if it commands the trust of the citizenry it professes to serve. This includes being open to public scrutiny and oversight.
It is against this backdrop that two events this week are of particular concern to this newspaper. One is Monday's shootings in the Denham Town area of West Kingston that left six people dead. One of the victims was a 13-year-old girl.
Reckless arrogance?
The specifics of the incident, from which the constabulary claimed to have recovered four guns, are not known. The police, however, say they were involved in a running, daytime gun battle with criminals. At least three of those who died were allegedly wanted for various crimes.
The other three, including the little girl, are presumed to have been shot dead in the crossfire, but by whose bullets remains unclear. It is a matter of some urgency that responsibility be established.
Indeed, it would baffle us that the police, sensitive to the safety and security of the citizenry, in the absence of the most compelling circumstance, would engage a gunfight that endangered the life of bystanders and passers-by. Were this to be the case, it would suggest reckless arrogance, of which the constabulary is too often accused, and which its critics say is the basis of the bulk of the 951 homicides by police officers between 2008 and 2011.
Give INDECOM more resources
Happily, there is now in place a body, the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), that has responsibility for the independent probing of claims of excessive use of force by members of the constabulary. Monday's Denham Town incident is in INDECOM's purview.
However, the agency's head, Mr Terrence Williams, suggests an insufficiency of resources to do the job, although he stopped short of an outright public request for a significant increase on the J$215 million he was allocated for the fiscal year now ending. But with 124 additional cases of police shootings so far this year, bringing INDECOM's caseload to more than 840, the point is made. Hopefully, the authorities have heard.
Mr Williams also highlighted the slow turnaround of ballistic reports by the police as a factor impeding its investigations. Indeed, this remains a stumbling block, after nearly two years, in the case of Keith Clarke, killed in his home by soldiers, and of more than 70 people who died in the Tivoli Gardens uprising in 2010.
Better can, and must, be done.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
Published: Wednesday | March 7, 20126 Comments
This newspaper is acutely aware of the difficult circumstances within which the police in Jamaica work. They are, too often, confronted by dangerously violent criminals, some of them armed with high-powered guns.
Indeed, in the three years to 2011, 31 police personnel were murdered in Jamaica, most of them either in the line of duty or merely for the fact of their membership in the Jamaica Constabulary Force or its auxiliaries.
The killing of police here is part of the broader context of Jamaica's high level of crime. With more than 1,000 homicides a year, Jamaica has one of the world's highest murder rates which, despite last year's 32 per cent decline, was still nearly 42 per 100,000 of population.
This hostile environment demands a constabulary that is not only technically proficient, but professional and accountable. The latter point is important.
The constabulary in a democracy can only police effectively if it commands the trust of the citizenry it professes to serve. This includes being open to public scrutiny and oversight.
It is against this backdrop that two events this week are of particular concern to this newspaper. One is Monday's shootings in the Denham Town area of West Kingston that left six people dead. One of the victims was a 13-year-old girl.
Reckless arrogance?
The specifics of the incident, from which the constabulary claimed to have recovered four guns, are not known. The police, however, say they were involved in a running, daytime gun battle with criminals. At least three of those who died were allegedly wanted for various crimes.
The other three, including the little girl, are presumed to have been shot dead in the crossfire, but by whose bullets remains unclear. It is a matter of some urgency that responsibility be established.
Indeed, it would baffle us that the police, sensitive to the safety and security of the citizenry, in the absence of the most compelling circumstance, would engage a gunfight that endangered the life of bystanders and passers-by. Were this to be the case, it would suggest reckless arrogance, of which the constabulary is too often accused, and which its critics say is the basis of the bulk of the 951 homicides by police officers between 2008 and 2011.
Give INDECOM more resources
Happily, there is now in place a body, the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), that has responsibility for the independent probing of claims of excessive use of force by members of the constabulary. Monday's Denham Town incident is in INDECOM's purview.
However, the agency's head, Mr Terrence Williams, suggests an insufficiency of resources to do the job, although he stopped short of an outright public request for a significant increase on the J$215 million he was allocated for the fiscal year now ending. But with 124 additional cases of police shootings so far this year, bringing INDECOM's caseload to more than 840, the point is made. Hopefully, the authorities have heard.
Mr Williams also highlighted the slow turnaround of ballistic reports by the police as a factor impeding its investigations. Indeed, this remains a stumbling block, after nearly two years, in the case of Keith Clarke, killed in his home by soldiers, and of more than 70 people who died in the Tivoli Gardens uprising in 2010.
Better can, and must, be done.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
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