Letter of the Day | Cops clueless in solving gun crimes
Published:Monday | March 19, 2018 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
The recent revelation by National Security Minister Robert Montague that five guns were responsible for 92 shootings is yet another clear reminder that the security forces don't have the first clue how to solve crime in this country.
Additionally, the revelation has vindicated my perennial position that the true crime situation cannot be known until at least a significant number of those who are committing crime, especially murder, are arrested, charged, and convicted.
While some persons chose to interpret the five-guns-to-92-shootings scenario as an indication of criminals getting more sophisticated, for me, the only story it tells is that the vast majority of our shootings are being done by a small number of persons.
This is not the first revelation about few guns being used in multiple shootings. In January 2016, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell told a news publication that the Jamaica Constabulary Force discovered that a small number of guns had featured in a large number of shootings. According to Mr Powell, guns were being hired out on a massive scale by players in the criminal underworld. Not even a grade six student could be convinced of that prognosis, since the very police never cease to tell the nation how the country is awash with illegal guns.
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
What is now required is for the police to use their brains to solve the remaining less than 50 per cent of the puzzle. And it is due to the fact that the creative capacity of the police has been ossified why it is now a universal truism in Jamaica that the criminal is hidden in plain sight.
Do the police realise how pathetic they sound when they continue to bemoan how sophisticated the criminals have become, giving the impression that there exist some insurmountable barriers to them becoming sophisticated, too?
Like every other professional domain in this global village, lawmakers must ensure that members of the JCF who occupy critical positions are capable of demonstrating significant analytical skills.
How come less than 3,000 criminals have been able to outwit and confuse more than 10,000 trained police for so many years?
CASHLEY BROWN