I have often struggled with the duality of my roles as a policeman and a social scientist. This is largely because I have been involved in law enforcement for far longer.

My training as a social scientist began in 2007. However, I have been focusing on fighting crime in various roles as far back as 1989, before my entry into the force. So you can see why I tend to sound more like a cop, despite my time spent pursuing my more recent passion.

Late last year I had the experience of being witness to an act of absolute hooliganism on the morning after Boxing Day. I was on duty and working at the Jamworld Entertainment Complex in Portmore, St Catherine.

I was there because of a concert that occurred in my police division. I was one of a large contingent of police officers working to maintain law and order.

The show, which was going well until about 6:00 am, took a turn when three deejays participated in a ‘sound clash’. For those who are not familiar with this type of activity, it is engaging in a competition of lyrics to a rhythm.

Without warning, two of the performers began hitting each other, which resulted in both tumbling off the stage. The entourage of both groups got involved and a brawl broke out.

Police personnel on the ground had to intervene. We were ordered by the commander of the division, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Christopher Phillips, who was on the ground, to immediately arrest everyone, including the artistes, who was involved in the brawl. It was brought under control before innocent people were hurt.

Like any other person who breaks the law, those involved in the brawl were arrested, handcuffed, and removed to a lock-up. This, based on their conduct, was where they belonged.

For many years I was the resident security consultant at Caymanas Park racetrack in the days when hooliganism was more popular and acceptable than it is now. In the 90s it felt as if I was mobbed more often than I ate hot meals. I, therefore, have no tolerance for this type of conduct.

So I moved the men to the station, placed the offenders behind bars, and began the process of charging them. During this exercise I was told by SSP Phillips to bring the two artistes to his office. I complied and had a seat in the office with them and the commander.

What I saw after that was probably the best mix of social science and law enforcement that I have ever seen. The commander, who had just ordered their arrest, rather than letting them hear some choice words, began counselling the artistes. He pointed out several unfavourable outcomes of their behaviour. This included the danger to public safety, the damage to their reputations, and the opportunity they lost to show the world their best.

As I silently observed the interaction, I saw the young men morph from hooligan back to human. They expressed their genuine regret, and I believed them. However, despite their contrition, they were charged and had to face the court for the offences they committed. This was important, because without consequences for disgraceful conduct you never truly learn.

The counselling session I observed gave me an idea. In our lock-ups we warehouse thousands of young men who are awaiting trial for years at a time. I firmly believe they are all criminals. They may or may not be guilty of the crimes they are charged with, but innocent men don’t end up in police lock-ups for years because they are denied bail. The Jamaican judiciary is justice-centred, not victim-centred and bail is given liberally.

Most of those charged will not be convicted, that’s just the reality because of the inability of the State to police our slums to a point at which people who live there are safe. Witnesses rarely want to risk their lives or their families’ lives for justice to be served. It’s regrettable, but understandable.

I say this to show that the criminals are coming right back out and they’re coming to hurt, kill, and rob, but this time they will have wider groups of allies with which to collaborate. They are also less human than they were when they went into those hot, stinking cages, some years before, to be treated like animals.

There is very little we can do to stop them coming out. We have the fairest justice system in the world. If witnesses don’t turn up or falter in their evidence, then the killers are going to be freed, it’s that simple.

We can, however, use our training and begin the process of rehabilitation prior to their convictions. This is against the accepted norms of any penal system in the world, but we are not normal.

We are a country engaged in a constant loop of killing since 1993. We need to be using extreme methods to achieve behaviour modification of the sub-group we call ‘remanded’.

We will not change everyone, but we will reach some. They are in hell for years. They may be malleable, or they may not be. One thing for sure is that they can’t be too busy to participate.

Releasing them without attempting to rehabilitate them means we are either reckless or we don’t really believe in rehabilitation.

The remanded are either your future convicted or your future offender. They are not your future law-abiding citizen.

We either need to try to effect radical change in their behaviour or we need to make drastic changes to our laws that make their release in the short to medium term impossible.

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