Dear Editor,
Not too long ago, the nation was in a frenzy, mayhem even, as we bemoaned and condemned the brutal and vicious killing of woman Constable Crystal Thomas as she attempted to foil a robbery that was in progress on the public passenger bus she was travelling after her long day of work. This was a very dark time for the nation.
This brutality so captured the attention of the embassy of the United States of America in Jamaica, which had to release a statement against the cold-blooded act.
As the nation is slowly emerging from this dark place, it has suddenly slipped into a deeper abyss. Why? One of the nation's police officers, who promised to serve and protect, has been found in extreme violation of this oath. And I speak of the audacious daylight attempted robbery in St Elizabeth. What could possibly have been the impetus for such a foolish and disgraceful? I pondered the situation deeply, but attempts to deduce a reasonable justification proved futile.
Though I could not find a justification for the action, something else was quite transparent. When there are rogue police officers they tend to contaminate the force, thus encouraging national disrespect and higher levels of social capital deficit in the relationship between the police and the citizens.
Daily the nation is urged to play their part in reducing crime and violence by working closely with the police and tell what they know. But how can you blame the citizens for their reticence when there are police officers who have associated themselves with criminal activities? This might sound like a convenient excuse to not share information with the police, but we must understand the effect that senseless actions of this nature can have on the people of a country.
The sad thing about this is, not all the members of the force are like this. There is just a handful that continue to project a horrible picture of the police. I wish there was a way to comb through the force and extricate them all. The nation would be better off for it.
I must congratulate the security guard who acted swiftly and with wisdom and caution. Because of his courage an unfortunate situation was thwarted.
Dorraine Reid
rainereid@gmail.com
Increase in rogue cops dark days for Ja
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Not too long ago, the nation was in a frenzy, mayhem even, as we bemoaned and condemned the brutal and vicious killing of woman Constable Crystal Thomas as she attempted to foil a robbery that was in progress on the public passenger bus she was travelling after her long day of work. This was a very dark time for the nation.
This brutality so captured the attention of the embassy of the United States of America in Jamaica, which had to release a statement against the cold-blooded act.
As the nation is slowly emerging from this dark place, it has suddenly slipped into a deeper abyss. Why? One of the nation's police officers, who promised to serve and protect, has been found in extreme violation of this oath. And I speak of the audacious daylight attempted robbery in St Elizabeth. What could possibly have been the impetus for such a foolish and disgraceful? I pondered the situation deeply, but attempts to deduce a reasonable justification proved futile.
Though I could not find a justification for the action, something else was quite transparent. When there are rogue police officers they tend to contaminate the force, thus encouraging national disrespect and higher levels of social capital deficit in the relationship between the police and the citizens.
Daily the nation is urged to play their part in reducing crime and violence by working closely with the police and tell what they know. But how can you blame the citizens for their reticence when there are police officers who have associated themselves with criminal activities? This might sound like a convenient excuse to not share information with the police, but we must understand the effect that senseless actions of this nature can have on the people of a country.
The sad thing about this is, not all the members of the force are like this. There is just a handful that continue to project a horrible picture of the police. I wish there was a way to comb through the force and extricate them all. The nation would be better off for it.
I must congratulate the security guard who acted swiftly and with wisdom and caution. Because of his courage an unfortunate situation was thwarted.
Dorraine Reid
rainereid@gmail.com
Increase in rogue cops dark days for Ja
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