ONLINE READERS COMMENT: Why is the JCF so careless with firearms?
Dear Editor,
News reports that police guns and other equipment were found in a police car during the recent appalling incident at or near Chedwin Park in St Catherine once again raise serious questions about the security of weapons in the custody of the police.
I can recall an incident several years ago where a police station was broken into and firearms removed but the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) could not immediately identify how many and which guns were stolen.
It is essential that firstly, all firearms which come into police custody should be recorded in a database which includes a description of each firearm, its serial number and ballistic images. Secondly, there must be a designated officer with the responsibility for the custody and issue of firearms and ammunition and the precise recording of time of delivery, to whom delivered and time of return.
Thirdly, there must be secured facilities for the storage of firearms and ammunition. Fourthly, there must be strict rules and well-known protocols about when, to whom and in what circumstances firearms are issued to and left in the control of members of the security forces.
It has also been reported that members of the JCF who were involved in the Chedwin Park incident have been described as not being “suspended” but had been “removed from front-line duties”.
INDECOM has stated that certain of the officers involved were on murder charges. If that is correct, were they nevertheless being allowed to be on duty in the police station where members of the public would have to go to seek protection from criminals and to report criminal activities?
The Police Service Regulations states that where criminal proceedings have been or are about to be instituted against a member of the Force and it is in the public interest, the Police Service Commission may recommend or the authorised officer may direct that that member be interdicted from the performance of his functions as a member of the Force. There needs to be an explanation as to why this was not done in this case.
Lloyd G Barnett
