Commissioner Ellington's unenviable task

Raulston Nembhard

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

MR Owen Ellington has now been appointed the new commissioner of police. We have not been told the reason for the long delay in his appointment, but he is now sitting in the hot seat and the seat is getting hotter each passing day. The task of fighting crime and maintaining law and order in Jamaica is monumental. As acting commissioner of police, we have seen snippets of what the new commissioner is capable of. Now that he is fully in charge, a vast number of Jamaicans seem willing to give him a chance and cooperate with him in his efforts to fight crime in the country.

And well they might. The increasing criminal depravity of a few in our society has left a trail of misery and brought the country to a psychological breaking point. The fear among residents is palpable. This is so because criminals are seen to operate with impunity; to kill, rape, and steal as they please without having to think too seriously about being caught, and if caught, to be seriously punished for their misdeeds. They are often back on the streets without delay. The face of crime that we see on the streets is just one side of the coin. What is not too visible is the crime that is aided and abetted by so-called upstanding people of society who orchestrate crime from the comforts of their well-preserved and comfortable havens and who are no less debauched in their contempt for human life than the foot soldiers they deploy to carry out their dastardly deeds. The truth is that a criminal culture has developed in Jamaica where every attempt is made to pursue personal and even corporate prosperity without having to be beholden to the constraints of law and order. Witness the behaviour of importers at customs. Our skills and ingenuity are not used to employ legal means as the way forward, but are instead used to circumvent the law in order that we may get by easily without much sweat or blood, except the blood of the victims we terrorise and finally destroy.

It is this criminal culture that every commissioner of police in Jamaica has been up against. Frankly, none of them, to my knowledge, have been distinguished in their efforts to seriously "arrest" this culture. In many respects, they have acted as lackeys to the political directorate. Some have sought to create their own "Halls of Fame" which have only turned out to be halls of infamy. Commissioner Ellington seems to have an independent streak, but will he be free of the tentacles of the political directorate? Will he be strong in resisting any attempt to tie his hands in the execution of his duties, and if such attempts are made to reveal to the people of this country what is happening so that such shameless acts can be exposed for what they are? Will he be transparent in the conduct of the affairs of the force, or will he operate under a blanket to preserve the reputation of a force that has already been sullied and is now impatient of radical reform? I am talking about an uncommon kind of valour, Mr Ellington, of the kind that we have not seen in a long time in the force, but which is necessary to stare down crime and its perpetrators and which will resist the political myopia that has put the lives of Jamaicans at risk and made us one of the most murderous countries on the face of the planet. There is no need for you to appeal for the support of the Jamaican people if you are not prepared to employ this kind of courage in your work. And you need the people on your side. As I said earlier, we have seen snippets of what you are capable of (the interdiction of corrupt cops, for example) while you acted. Now that you have the job, show us that you mean business. You will have the unswerving support of this writer as long as you do. In the meantime, I wish you well as you assume this unenviable task as the top cop in a country wading in a sea of criminality.

Teachers lacking enlightenment

One of the functions of the educational enterprise is to foster enlightenment with an ever-widening expansion of knowledge. In recent times the teachers have not shown a great deal of enlightenment in their ongoing duel with the government for wage increases. By previous agreement with the former government, and before the full brunt of the economic recession hit the shores of Jamaica, they were to be paid $9 billion. The government has agreed to pay them up to $1.5 billion for the rest of this year with the rest to come later. But this gesture was not kind enough for the Jamaica Teachers' Association. They have decided to suspend all extra-curricular and after-hours activities in protest.

The teachers are being unconscionable and disingenuous in their demands. They know that the country is going through dire economic straits; that the money is not really available to pay them as they would wish it. Yet, they are insisting on their pound of flesh from an already emaciated economy. In the end it is the children who will be hurt by their unenlightened response to the needs of the country at this time. Their appeal for sympathy and understanding from parents is fatuous, for they know that they are not on a high moral ground with their demands and that their actions can hurt the minds of the students that they have sworn to enlighten. It is plain greed on their part for they know that teachers are among the best paid civil servants. They are not being denied what is theirs, but the money is just not available at this time to pay them. Why is this is so difficult to understand, Mr Michael Stewart? Where is the enlightenment that is required of your leadership at this crucial hour?

stead6655@aol.com

www.drraulston.com

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COMMENTS (6)

Elli Deedo
5/3/2010

I've posted my comment on the performance of this Mr. Ellington, it was not published,I wonder why. I've said and will repeat, he need's to review the old out dated requirements to join the forces. Such as the height of applicants. Qualified applicants with Subjects such as Chemistry, physics, mathematics must be accepted in the forces. Those are the Ones he must create the Facilities for. He must emphasize on the importance of a intelligent Police force. The force need's to be reformed. Students leaving Schools with subjects as Information Technology, are turned away, because they are not having the height of a Light Pole!!. He need's to adopt a more Modern approach. I was told just recently by a senior Police officer, that several police are not Computer literate, he went on to say most of them. Just to hang around with a Title, while your administration fail's effeciency, make's no sense:

gary lee
4/29/2010

Let me congratulate Mr. Ellington on his appointment, which I originally was very critical of. I hope he is successful in lowering the murder rate and other acts of violence to 1960's level. I also hope he continues to educate other members of the force in their profession.

mike beckles
4/28/2010

George watson , you comment on a lot of things , however I have asked you on a previous occasion to be more judicious with your comments ,absent credible information.
The JCF has one of the highest people to Cop ratio in the world , there's simply not enough cops to go around, Police Officers are over worked, so stop with the smear ,
Some small town Stations have eight or ten Officers whom are responsible for large areas , between day off sick, or other leaves , there remains less than enough Cops to do the job,.
George Watson this is a Government problem, not a Police problem.
Nowhere there did you say the Police refused to go , what would you have them do under the scenario you outlined uh ? .
STOP WITH THE POLICE BASHING , THE POLICE ARE ALL THAT STAND BETWEEN YOU AND THE ANARCHIST , BLAME YOUR GOVERNMENT.

Paul Lewis
4/28/2010

We can all wish him well...since his success can only be to our benefit. The post of Commissioner should not be subjected to poltical whims or direction...although they pretend that its not, but we know better. If Law enforcement were given a free hand then the fear would now be on the politicians...and I am sure they dont want that. Transforming the Force into a professional, efficient organization, should be his first priority...then he would see the attitudes of the public towards them change...since they would now be seen as a partner in Crime fighting. Good Luck.

Jay Brown
4/28/2010

We where indeed given the reason for the long delay in his appointment.
The problem lies in the terms and references of this contract .
Mr Ellington is not longer employed as a permanent employee as the position of commissioner is a contractual one.
He had a major problem in own the pension portion of his contract was being handled hence his refusal to sign the contract in the form in which it was given to him.
Recall the former BOJ had a really sweet pension plan, so the GOJ wanted to make sure they did not repeat what happened their.
Re his job, I expect him to fail like all his predecessors as our politicians have no real desire to solve crime in out country.
What we need is for our constitutional lawyers to start revising the constitution and developing new rules governing what the politicians can and cannot do.
Bring this to the people and let the people force the government to pass these new regulations.
This now removes completely the notion that a MP is above the law.

george watson
4/28/2010

Last evening I got a call at my home in Port Antonio that my friend in Duncan’s, Trelawny had died at 4:45 p.m. They said they had called the undertakers some 30 miles away to come for the body. They had also called the Duncan’s police, who had to visit the home, although it was a natural death. Some five calls later the police in Duncan’s, two chains away had not arrived.
Firstly they had no transportation, but his daughter promised to pick them up; then it was only two of them at the station (the inspector and a constable) so neither could leave, and three hours later the worried family and the undertakers were still awaiting them.
The commissioner certainly has his work cut out for him, but I guess he doesn’t even care about things like that when he has his hands full, trying to curb crime.
But things like these certainly alienate people from the police and must make their work more difficult for them. Anyway it doesn’t matter; they still get their salary at month end

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Commissioner Ellington's unenviable task