SO, in its ongoing effort to clean up its performance, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has decided to set up a unit of its anti-corruption branch in St James, one of the most crime-infested parishes in Jamaica.

That is good; corruption is a monster that needs to be fought with every available resource if there is to be any hope of steering this country to the prosperity that we know it is capable of enjoying.

But even as we applaud this particular initiative by the police, we can't help feeling a little bit worried about what we are hoping is not a preoccupation with form over substance.

For we don't expect that there is any magic in this latest initiative.

All units, no matter what name they go by, are staffed by people upon whose discretion rests the fate of their objectives.

In order to meet those objectives, they must be able to exercise their discretion by outing systems that are obviously full of holes and are vulnerable to the vagaries of corrupt people.

Sporadic arrests, which are the product of chance, are all well and good within a limited context. And we would not want to be read as discounting the contribution that such arrests have made in the fight against crime.

But ultimately, it is the overall integrity of the systems that govern that will determine who wins the crime fight.

Accountability, coupled with independence of the political directorate, are what will determine whether the JCF gains the respect of the society that it purports to serve and protect.

If the society does not believe in the integrity of the JCF, what's the use?

It is no secret that St James is a particularly difficult parish to police, owing to the rocky, largely inaccessible terrain of its most depressed communities.

Without the co-operation of the people who live in these communities, the police will never succeed against the criminals who plague them.

That is why we are so heartened by the information coming from Superintendent Merrick Watson, St James' divisional commander, that the division is to be beefed up with officers trained in community policing.

It is expected that these officers will spend more time in the communities, interacting and hopefully gaining the trust of the residents.

This, in turn, it is hoped, will reduce the comparative advantage that criminals seem to have over the police.

It sounds good in theory.

However, as with most things in life, the real challenge is to be found in the practical application.

We wish the superintendent every success during his tenure in St James.

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