Dear Editor,
The recent call for the head of the commissioner of police by Dr Carolyn Gomes of Jamaicans for Justice is most unfair and unjustified. She inherently submits that the murder rate for 2013 would be a cause of concern for even a First World country, much less for little Jamaica, but she offers no suggestion as to what the commissioner should have done, or be doing, to stem this haemorrhage, short of stopping them before they occurred.
Now, a First World country's murder rate requires First World crime-fighting equipment. Is Dr Gomes saying the commissioner of police should be preventing these murders from taking place in the first place; eg, murders which could have had their inception from perceived infidelity, family disputes over land or sheer Jamaican-provoked rage -- that surely cannot be the job of any commissioner of police. What about murders where criminal groups have killed their own members or rivals? I would think that this batch would be welcomed by the commissioner of police. But those are just practical aspects of the problem which just cannot be laid at the commissioner's feet.
The real questions Dr Gomes should have asked of the commissioner is, "Do you have the modern machinery and manpower? Are your patrol cars equipped with computers that can give information of every licensed vehicle on the road within seconds? Have you got the firepower that can match what he knows to be on the streets? Does he have under his command the necessary manpower that he needs to really police this island? When she is satisfied that he has been provided with all the above, and has failed, then, and only then, can she call for his removal.
Furthermore, has Dr Gomes ever stopped to consider what the life of a police officer and family members entail. They do not know if they will be coming home that evening, moreso than the regular civilian. So, I would make bold to suggest to Dr Gomes to try a different approach in your dealing with the police. Instead of calling for his removal for reasons that are beyond his control, go and sit with him and try to find out how your organisation can help him in his mammoth task.
Next thing, demonstrate to the rank and file of the Force that you are not the enemy. I have heard complaints from them that neither Dr Gomes, nor her organisation, has ever attended the funeral of a police officer who was murdered in the line of duty. And some have gone further to say that your name should be changed from Jamaicans for Justice to "Jamaicans for just us".
The police are the most un-loved and unappreciated, yet are most vital members of a stable society. Steps have been taken to discourage those who might be tempted down the path of corruption; Dr Gomes should join forces with them to advocate for the police to be adequately equipped to protect the country in the 21st century.
Howard Hamilton, CD, QC
Duke Street
Kingston
Unfair call, Dr Gomes
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The recent call for the head of the commissioner of police by Dr Carolyn Gomes of Jamaicans for Justice is most unfair and unjustified. She inherently submits that the murder rate for 2013 would be a cause of concern for even a First World country, much less for little Jamaica, but she offers no suggestion as to what the commissioner should have done, or be doing, to stem this haemorrhage, short of stopping them before they occurred.
Now, a First World country's murder rate requires First World crime-fighting equipment. Is Dr Gomes saying the commissioner of police should be preventing these murders from taking place in the first place; eg, murders which could have had their inception from perceived infidelity, family disputes over land or sheer Jamaican-provoked rage -- that surely cannot be the job of any commissioner of police. What about murders where criminal groups have killed their own members or rivals? I would think that this batch would be welcomed by the commissioner of police. But those are just practical aspects of the problem which just cannot be laid at the commissioner's feet.
The real questions Dr Gomes should have asked of the commissioner is, "Do you have the modern machinery and manpower? Are your patrol cars equipped with computers that can give information of every licensed vehicle on the road within seconds? Have you got the firepower that can match what he knows to be on the streets? Does he have under his command the necessary manpower that he needs to really police this island? When she is satisfied that he has been provided with all the above, and has failed, then, and only then, can she call for his removal.
Furthermore, has Dr Gomes ever stopped to consider what the life of a police officer and family members entail. They do not know if they will be coming home that evening, moreso than the regular civilian. So, I would make bold to suggest to Dr Gomes to try a different approach in your dealing with the police. Instead of calling for his removal for reasons that are beyond his control, go and sit with him and try to find out how your organisation can help him in his mammoth task.
Next thing, demonstrate to the rank and file of the Force that you are not the enemy. I have heard complaints from them that neither Dr Gomes, nor her organisation, has ever attended the funeral of a police officer who was murdered in the line of duty. And some have gone further to say that your name should be changed from Jamaicans for Justice to "Jamaicans for just us".
The police are the most un-loved and unappreciated, yet are most vital members of a stable society. Steps have been taken to discourage those who might be tempted down the path of corruption; Dr Gomes should join forces with them to advocate for the police to be adequately equipped to protect the country in the 21st century.
Howard Hamilton, CD, QC
Duke Street
Kingston
Unfair call, Dr Gomes
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