Editorial | A gift to the Jamaica Constabulary Force

We sincerely hope that those who are responsible for shaping and improving the county’s public safety have taken note of the offer by a retired senior police officer to return to the crime-fighting fold to help in the effort to keep Jamaica safe.

Seeming frustrated by the level of impunity with which criminals carry out various acts of violence, retired senior superintendent of police, John Morris, wants to get back into crime-fighting mode.

And he is not alone; there are retired police and army officers both here and in the diaspora who have expressed their willingness to put their expertise, knowledge and experience to help improve the security situation. These sentiments have been expressed in various public fora and in discussion groups.

Speaking in Westmoreland earlier this week to members of the Association of Past Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, senior superintendent Morris, a tough crime fighter in his day, said the time had come for him and his fellow retirees to help fix the crime problem.

“Jamaica needs us to work as a team … we need to assist the country to get back on its feet and I am going to be pushing for it, that we as retired people must make some effort to go back out there and assist.” He spoke passionately, in what sounded like a call to action, to members of the group who spent many decades in law enforcement.

There are prevailing stereotypes regarding retirees who are seen as persons who have been plunged into ill-health and mental and physical decline. But the truth is that there is brilliant diversity within the retired population and there are many who are capable of putting their life-time experience to use in the workplace.

OBVIOUS QUESTION

One obvious question is: How different was the policing environment between now and then? The simple answer is that it was different. Today’s criminals are bolder, better equipped, mobile and more brutal. As for the police, without the benefit of hi-tech equipment they relied to a large extent on instinct, community intelligence and know-how. But let’s not forget that past experience contains vital lessons for the future.

We note the recent announcement by the JCF that it will be stepping up action against gangs. Respectfully, this sounds like last year’s news. Targeting gangs that are deemed to be the main architects of the crime dilemma has been the main plank of the JCF’s crime strategy for many years. But achieving a meaningful reduction in criminal activity, and murder in particular, will require greater action from the current leadership and ranks of the JCF. And yes, it will take financial input and human resources which are not now available to the JCF.

Even though our fiscal situation is improving, Jamaica does not have the financial headroom required to meet the necessary investment to properly train personnel and install new and upgraded technology. So it seems the focus has to be on human capital. Clearly, the return of retirees to help with crime-fighting would have to be carefully worked out to achieve the best results and to operate within the ambit of the law. And also with some caution having regard to professional sensibilities. However, without being security experts ourselves we can imagine that there are various ways in which they could help, for example, in gathering intelligence or in searching for clues in cold cases.

The severity of the situation in Jamaica requires a bold security strategy which is fit for the times in which we find ourselves, and we believe that retired law-enforcers could play a significant role as resource persons.

It would be a mistake to ignore their offer for when it comes to the national security of Jamaica, the coming years will be the defining ones. Tackling them with the same failed strategy can only yield disastrous results.