Dear Editor,

Please excuse me for my refusal to celebrate unrestrainedly the reported reduction in murders in 2010 when compared to 2009. We welcome the downward trend, but continue to remain nervously cautious when it comes to our own personal safety within the nation. Any credible vox pop, as some have already, will bear out the fact that most Jamaicans do not feel any safer. We received a report from the police some time last year to the effect that there were approximately 6,000 illegal guns in Jamaica . At the time, I wondered on what basis such a determination could have been made. Have we been tracking the importation and movement of illegal guns over time? If yes, what have we done with this information? Could we know the numbers without knowing the players?

Prior to the 2007 election the police were able to tell us that certain communities were stockpiling weapons for the election. Has a probe been commissioned since, and what exactly were the findings? Either there has been stunning inaction or deafening silence.

The Tivoli incursion of 2010 and subsequent police and military initiatives, while delivering modest successes as far as repelling and apprehending gunmen across the nation is concerned, have not brought in the guns in any significant way. If the police estimates are to be believed, a vast arsenal of illegal weapons remains in the hands of would-be assassins and their seemingly sophisticated masters. The decline in murders, as reported, may turn out to be transient if the guns don’t come in. There may very well be an unsustainable ceasefire on in earnest, as frightened gunmen retreat for a while.

Were the police able to bring in 200 guns in total last year? How many were retrieved during the Tivoli operation when 73 people reportedly died, and where many gunmen had reportedly set up camp in the besieged community? The capacity to unleash mayhem and terror on law-abiding citizens remains largely unchecked. There have, however, been reported gun and ammunition finds over the last two weeks. Cynics among us question whether these are genuine finds, or did these so-called retrievals originate from earlier operations where the true numbers where not totally reported (including the Tivoli operation). I wont go there with them, but I know where they are coming from.These are reasons why the majority of Jamaicans do not feel safer now than they did a year ago, notwithstanding the intensification of police/military operations and public relations.

Can the authorities truly report that the supply side of the illegal guns equation has been fully or significantly stemmed? Are our technological capabilities to detect illegal guns and ammunition any more enhanced today than they were yesterday, when admittedly we were essentially groping in the dark? Can the nation be assured that illegal weapons retrieved by the police when gunmen are killed or apprehended, or both, don’t find their way back on the streets through corrupt rental and sales deals? Can we really expect the citizens to confidently tell what they know when there are police who leak information to criminals?

I recall in my own personal experience that police had tipped off criminals that a relative of mine had given information about them to police. How do I know? The criminals told me themselves, while telling me why they decided not to wipe out our entire family. For many others, there is a huge psychological mountain that has to be cleared before we can feel safe in our beloved country. Let us see the commissioner show a discernibly non-partisan hand, where he fears and panders to no political agenda, and then gigantic steps towards a safe Jamaica would be decisively taken. So far, the signs are good, and many are inclined to support him in this monumental mission. For Jamaica ‘s sake. Mr Commissioner, please show us some consistent “out of the box” verve, and we will be well on our way.

Wat Ching

wat.ching@yahoo.com