Dear Editor,

The Jamaica Observer has shown interest in a case that has mystified and confused the public understanding. I agree that the police must be sure of its information before informing the public; however, there has to be a limit to this kind of silence.

The article, ‘Access Denied!’, is a continuation of a series of useful expository articles keeping alive the case it has expressed concerns about, as well as seeking information about the incident like any other criminal case. When this kind of roadblock regarding public accountability emerges it leaves a condition smelling fishy, and the police does not come out of it with a pretty odour.

There is unease regarding the issues of accountability and trust in public intuitions in Jamaica. Columnist Chris Burns, in ‘Public trust and accountability’ (Sunday Observer, November 29, 2014) reminds us that public confidence in government, and also for public institutions, is associated with the belief that actions of Government should produce the right outcomes. He argues also that when public confidence and trust wanes it gives rise to a deficit of trust. There is this mission of the political parties to talk about the building and maintenance of democracy, but this has been a fleeting perception because this deficit in the public has always been a danger to democracy.

One of the major influences to this lack of accountability in public institutions in Jamaica is grounded in the legacy of the closed society defined by the colonial era. The colonial governments had no systems of public accountability; it was a closed society. A closed society is a danger to what is called democracy. More than often, there has been a tendency and behaviour by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, political leaders and Members of Parliament to act as if they are the law and not the servants of the law.

In 2012, Dr Lawrence A Powell and a team from The University of the West Indies set out to measure the deficit of public trust in Jamaica. The team found that only six per cent of those interviewed “had a lot of confidence” in political parties; seven per cent expressed confidence in the police; eight per cent expressed confidence in Parliament; seven per cent in the judiciary; and 10 per cent in the Government. This was five years ago and the matter of public trust has worsened, and the case matter discussed in ‘Access Denied’ belongs to a long line of many similar secretive investigations that lead to nowhere. This matter has contributed to the continuing deficit in public trust in Jamaica. The political parties, Parliament and the police force, for example, are not friendly to criticisms; they exude a kind of dictatorial attitude of their mythical status of the ‘gods’ of perfection on Earth. The time has come for a public debate on an open society for Jamaica.

Louis E A Moyston, PhD

thearchives01@yahoo.com