Dear Editor,

The police are sick of being abused; sick of being overlooked; sick of being labelled the problem; sick of being the first fence any young and up-and-coming group, especially human rights ones, can pick on. They are sick of being used as a buffer between the Government and the citizens, and sick of being told they are worthless but called upon and expected to perform miracles when danger and trouble lurk. Apparently they are sick of being labelled corrupt generally, when other people, groups, or professions exhibiting more corrupt ways, are not called out or pursued similarly.

The simple way to make the sick cops get better is to pay the ordinary police better, much better. It can be done, but the simplest way to find the money needed is to restructure the force and cut the number of senior ranks and senior officers in the force. There is no need for seven officer ranks. Only three ranks are really needed: commissioner, deputy commissioner and superintendent.

Decentralise or localise the police force so two superintendents are responsible for each parish; one for administration and the next for operations — that’s 28 in total. Then have one commissioner supported by four deputies: a grand total of 33 senior officers.

The hundreds of millions of dollars saved from that venture should then be used to pay the lower ranks in the force much better, because they are the ones who actually get the work done.

Lessening the ranks will create a multitude of positives such as a shorter and more active chain of command, quicker response time to members’ welfare, clearer instructions, specific point men can easily be identified, better local planning in divisions, and better data compilation overall.

The general health of the mass of police personnel seems to have been in decline over successive years. What is seen now is the breaking out of a sore that has festered.

Joseph Edwards

jdocforreal@gmail.com