Dear editor,

The prolonged ‘mystery illness’ affecting hundreds of Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) officers across several divisions goes to show that our rank-and-file officers have no problem at all concocting lies to get by.

The Police Federation, on the other hand, have categorically denied any planned ‘sick-out’; but, let’s call a spade a spade: somebody in the ranks of the force is responsible for infecting the officers with this contagious mystery illness, which has managed to transcend parish borders within an instance and incredulously damaged the moral immune system of nearly 3000 police officers, of whom only 1000 have received the vaccine of integrity to resume their duties after suffering this terrible MIS (Mystery Illness Syndrome).

Set aside that our government needs to take the cry of the police officers seriously, especially in light of the shortage of officers, due to the high attrition rate in the JCF and the difficulty in recruiting suitable candidates quickly enough to realise the number of cops needed to properly execute the business of serving, protecting, and reassuring, the moral fibre of our officers should always be guided by those pledges they took to execute their duties with the highest level of rectitude.

The JCF has been lying to us and it belittles the mental capacity of the general public and bespeaks a lack of commitment on the officers’ part.

I do hope that the requisite sick leaves have been tendered for those cops who have gone beyond the number of days required to provide the same and also hope that the strategy is not that as soon as one set of the officers gets well, the other set gets ill.

I charge the JCF to adopt methods of protest that do not compromise their trustworthiness, for the JCF is grappling with enough public distrust already. Further, to conveniently fabricate lies to suit your purposes is an indication that your moral ethicality is not absolute, which seriously undermines the JCF’s attempt to restore the public’s trust in its officers.

Conversely, this police wage situation has escalated badly and the government now needs to address it with a sense of immediacy, for the crime monster is still on the loose. We appreciate the sacrifices of our officers and must do our very best to ensure that we take good care of them, just as how we expect them to take good care of us. May we find the ‘cerasee’ of a better wage offer to stem this MIS once and for all!

J Fitzroy Johnson