Dear Editor,

In a statement on September 28, 2018, Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang declared his disconnection with the reality that surrounds the tsunami of crime that has been overwhelming Jamaica for the past decade.

Chang, while addressing whether the new Police Service Act will transform the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) on a radio programme, did not hesitate to deliver what could be interpreted as nothing less than another demoralising blow to the already embattled JCF:

“The current police force cannot be changed, we need a new police force,” Dr Chang posited.

As history has recorded it, whenever any of our politicians make any such declaration we can expect a number of things to happen — none of which is ever meant to benefit the indigent of our country, but that our politicians are gearing up to further erode the rights of the poor.

With Jamaica being one of the global epicentres as it relates to crime and violence, and as we continue to experience haemorrhaging across the nation, all that has happened is we have applied a tourniquet by the extension of the zones of special operations.

Truth be told, this just reminds us of the ineffectiveness of the JCF.

Let me be clear, I believe it is the job of the minister of security to formulate a plan for national security and nothing in the current Constabulary Force Act prevents the JCF from carrying out its duties and responsibilities. The Act outlines the functions of the police and the process by which members of the police force may arrest perpetrators, without warrant in certain cases. Additionally, it addresses the power of arrest under warrant, powers of search, powers to apprehend without a warrant, powers to stop and search vehicles, the power to prevent congestion in the thoroughfare, and the procedure after arrest to include how to maintain custody of a person without a warrant — all of which the current constabulary force has been doing since its inception.

Still, one cannot disagree that our current tsunami of crime is vastly overwhelming the constabulary force.

The Jamaican criminal elements have taken advantage of modern technology — software and hardware — while the JCF is stuck in the dinosaur age of political bureaucracy and corruption. Furthermore, our judicial and penal systems do not facilitate having a modernised and effective police force. As part of a new national security effort the Government will have to facilitate advanced technology and forensic evidence to fight crime and help secure evidence to secure convictions on a wider scale in court, even in the most rural areas of the country.

All Jamaicans, including Minister Chang, have a responsibility to restore some semblance of civility to society soon.

Alyak Enaek

newsworthy91@gmail.com