I generally write my article for the Sunday Observer on Thursday nights. I am doing so now. I have just finished playing football and received a proper thrashing from my friend Gregory Blake’s team. I can’t see why, though, because I know I have a better team. I am tired, I have work at 2:30 am, which is in a few hours. That means I won’t get any sleep at all.

I did this same duty with respect to time on Wednesday morning. I will definitely do it again on Saturday morning, possibly on Sunday morning. I am not alone, almost every officer in operations and many in intelligence and investigations are doing the same duties as I am.

There are currently 10 times more operations than were conducted five years ago, so obviously there will be more shootings. It’s just logic. More operations, more contact, more shootings. It’s obvious, unless you work at the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom).

As I said before, I am tired. However, I don’t feel that it is a burden. Rather, I feel motivated because I am following a plan that is yielding results. I believe that my actions and the actions of my colleagues are saving lives.

We have all bought into a plan by Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake, and the police high command, and our activities that they direct are imperative to saving the lives of hundreds of people in 2025.

There is unprecedented support of not just Dr Blake, but of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Warren Clarke and DCP Richard Stewart. I have honestly never seen it like this.

As a researcher, I believe that this period of our history needs to be studied. I consider myself an expert in crime analysis. I never believed that I could see a reduction like this in my lifetime without an internment act. The current strategy is working at a rate I could never have conceived; it needs to be studied.

The pan-American average homicide rate is within reach. This is an amazing accomplishment. Academically, I can understand the various factors and how they fit into place. But still.

What also needs to be studied is how Dr Blake and his management team have managed to convince so many thousands of men and women to put out the effort that I am seeing. As a criminologist and a lifetime crime fighter I agree with his plan wholeheartedly. However, I am a lot easier to convince than many of my colleagues.

Despite the cynicism and the ‘Doubting Thomases’, the men and women of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) have slavishly committed their lives and their energy behind Dr Blake and his plan. This kind of leadership also needs to be studied so that others can learn to garner the support of the people they lead to give every ounce of themselves to a cause that is both larger and greater than them.

I don’t know what the plan for education is. I believe that the current minister, Senator Dr Dana Morris-Dixon, is committed. I also believe that Damion Crawford is committed. I would love to see them collaborate and come up with a plan that teachers and parents will buy into in the same way that the JCF and the large majority of decent Jamaicans have bought into Dr Blake’s plan.

I have been led, during my over two decades of service to the JCF, by incredible men. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Christopher Phillips, Senior Superintendent of Police Terrence Bent, ACP Marlon Nesbeth, and superintendents Carey Duncan and Camendo Thoms are a few.

Some commanded my unit, some commanded my division. All from that list who still serve have unreservedly bought into the plan. The members of my unit, who are as complex a group as they come, have bought into the plan. The intel men who crawl through bushes without the benefit of armed teams behind them have bought into the plan. This is leadership. How can we learn from it? How can we replicate it?

No matter how great the plan, if the men and woman on the ground — whether they are police officers, teachers, doctors, or any other members of society — don’t buy into it then it is doomed to fail.

Politicians from both sides of the Parliament have great ideas but never have total support. I would imagine that this is because of the divisive two-party system that teaches us to oppose anything and everything, with little or no consideration for the good of the country. But can you imagine if this were not so? Can you imagine what could occur if once a government was elected we all behaved as if it represented us all, irrespective of whom we voted for?

We are three months from creating history in both local and international law enforcement. This reduction in homicides will bring us back to where we were in the 90s. We have to learn from this, not just for future commissioners, but for all future leaders because this is about more than just a great plan. This is about getting hundreds of thousands of people to believe in it and another 14,000 people ready to die for it.

Both Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mark Golding are brilliant men. They need to learn how to get Jamaica to support whatever great plans they have for us. They also need to collaborate for Jamaica’s greater good.

It is no secret that I don’t like the two-party system. I am probably the only person I know who likes a coalition government. I don’t believe in Communism or Fascism either. This may make me appear naïve or make me a believer in the human spirit. I’m not sure.

However, I do know one thing: I am tired, but I will go one more day or 1,000 more days because I believe in the plan and I believe in the leadership. I believe that if I should fall later, either because of exhaustion or gunfire, it will be for a noble cause that I see producing results.

I see the men and women around me with that same vision. I am not sure society understands our efforts. I am not sure they understand our commitment. What I do know is that the majority of the country believes in the leadership of our organisation.

I look forward to seeing other leaders who can motivate their workforce in the same manner that Commissioner Blake and the JCF high command have managed to invigorate their membership. Then we will have more great plans that can actually be executed to their intended fruition.

Feedback: drjasonamckay@gmail.com