Capacity, intelligence, investigation, laws and human rights
AFTER the allies were defeated at the outset of Britain’s entry into World War II it was evident that their professional army would be unable to defeat the Axis powers, despite the alliance with the other countries.
The British military’s death toll for the entire war was more than 384,000. This was considerable. Remember, their army was made up of only 224,000 regulars, supported by 173,000 reserves.
If not for the regular citizen volunteering to join the military and the subsequent draft that followed, England would have been defeated.
This history lesson is to help you understand the value of a motivated citizen who chooses to become a soldier to fight for his country. Once he is trained and takes that oath, he is a citizen no more.
Many people have sent me e-mails decrying my suggestion of a Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) reserve to help defeat the gang army assembled at our door.
If not for civilians who chose to serve in World War II the allies, not just Britain, would now all be speaking German. This also goes for modern-day Israel. The whole country is an army in waiting, from the fashion model to the farmer.
We are in no less danger than any regular citizen in Israel. Their deaths through violence, including terrorism, are rarely greater than Jamaica’s in any given year. Last year was an anomaly, due to the October 7 attacks. And 2022 was barely more than 200, if you include deaths from terrorism in both Arab and Jewish societies.
There are five specific factors required to face a major, well-armed group operating from within a civilian geographical zone. These are capacity, intelligence-gathering capability, investigative ability, laws, and human rights.
Let’s start with intelligence. Jamaica’s National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Military Intelligence Unit are incredibly competent. September 11 could never have occurred on Jamaican soil as the NIB would have heard it was coming. If you are out there committing crimes, they know about it. If you are not hurting yet it’s because of the next factor.
Laws. This element allows for law enforcement to cage you, but it also serves as an encumbrance to police action. The legal environment to fight a war can’t be the same as the legal environment in a time of peace.
So the third element is a legal environment similar to El Salvador. This one gives the State the power to remand on intelligence, rather than evidence. This is totally unsuitable in any civilised society in a time of peace but is the perfect weapon in a time of war.
Investigative ability. This is a major factor as this is what allows you to function in collaboration with a judicial system that exists to guarantee justice. We have talented investigators. There is no other country in the world that could charge as many criminals as we do with resources as limited as ours and a legal system that prohibits access to telecom-related data as we have.
Then there is capacity. This speaks to the ability to occupy a war zone with a paramilitary presence to a level that strips the power from the gang and transfers it to the law. This is totally different from peace-time policing and occupational patrols.
I am talking about a real paramilitary occupation that is required for war zones like Haiti, Gaza, pre-Bukele El Salvador, and — lest I forget — the inner-city communities of Jamaica.
Human rights activism is a necessary factor in any paramilitary occupation. This is so because, as history has shown, in time what will occur is a walk from civil oppression to military tyranny.
I am not referring to what occurs in Jamaica now with the current human rights organisations that serve as an intelligence medium to international donors and operate from uptown. I am speaking of having offices in the occupied territories and serving as a buffer between the innocent citizen and an exuberant State.
Ignoring the capacity issue results in the failure of the operation as a whole. This we have been doing from the gangs became the ghetto governments in the 70s.
This we can only solve with the creation of a reserve.
This fact is known and understood by maybe four members of our Parliament. Unfortunately, it is only the Parliament that can create this reserve — and if it is done badly it will fail.
We are facing off with a threat that requires a full-time force of about 30,000. We currently have about 14,000 men and women. We can’t expand to 30,000 full-time officers unless we import people but what we can do is enlist 25,000 reserves. It’s possible, and needed.
Additionally, what we can stop doing is sending home our police officers, particularly our investigative staff and our officer core, at 60.
Can you imagine they are retiring Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey this year? Why would you want to lose all that ability and knowledge at a time like this?
I’m pretty sure he isn’t planning to assault houses. Who cares if he is 60? He is an administrator who oversees our criminal investigative staff. He is likely at the best he has ever been. He is a specialist.
No system can be this myopic and expect dramatic improvement. It can’t be set in steel that you must retire at 60. It should be optional.
The police force is energised like never before. The people are ready to join the fight to save our nation.
It is up to the elected leadership to act on the obvious, and if they don’t understand then ask those of us who do.
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