We take nothing away from the constitutional right that Mr Assan Thompson, the police superintendent in charge of the St Catherine North division, chose to exercise in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper.

According to Mr Thompson, Spanish Town’s mayor, Dr Andrew Wheatley, maligned his officers in comments reported in our Monday edition.

For those who may have missed it, Dr Wheatley captured Monday’s headline with allegations that the policemen responsible for curbing crime in his town are not doing their job under Mr Thompson’s watch.

Specifically, Dr Wheatley claimed that the policemen are lazy, sloppy and nonchalant.

We wonder what could have inspired such a description of the officers in question?

Was it really malice… against ALL of them?

Was it a misguided opinion based on a one-off observation?

Or was it the sad truth?

We will not, in this space, attempt to answer any of these questions.

Suffice it to say that if, as an angry Mr Thompson tells us, the mayor’s allegations are “malicious, baseless and come at a time when the division is making significant progress — progress that the mayor himself should try to identify with since we are releasing the stranglehold the gangs have on the citizens”, time will eventually prove it.

Yes, it is time, as opposed to angry rantings in the media, that will tell if Spanish Town — a place where those who can do better, simply don’t tread — is really a safe place under the protection of the policemen of the St Catherine North division.

If, or more hopefully when, that happens there won’t be so much time for the theatrics, as we’ll all be much too busy talking about the next opportunity for growth and improvement in this once-prosperous town.

As things stand now, we would rather highlight, without taking sides, the wisdom of listening a bit more carefully to what is being said about the outfits we lead, before engaging in a war of words.

Because as evidenced by the current one between the mayor and the superintendent, they really aren’t very productive.

And the energy spent seeking redress might be better directed towards a process of introspection with a view to improvement. Although, we must add, Mayor Wheatley is guilty of a bit of grandstanding. For given some of the data provided by Superintendent Thompson, and our own checks on the ground in Spanish Town, a number of Mr Wheatley’s claims lack substance. And frankly, he could easily have his concerns in private with Mr Thompson.

We’re sure that reasonable people will not have a problem with what is being said here.

Spanish Town is but one of several communities in Jamaica that need assistance with all aspects of its infrastructure.

It is, like so many communities in Jamaica, a work in progress, experiencing, we’re sure, varying levels of success en route to ideal status.

Let’s not judge the pudding before it’s baked.