Dear Editor,

I write today as a concerned Jamaican who believes deeply in the rule of law, but who is becoming increasingly troubled by the direction in which our country appears to be heading.

Democracy is built upon accountability, fairness, and public confidence. Yet many Jamaicans are beginning to ask whether our democratically elected government is drifting towards a style of governance that relies less on public trust and more on coercive enforcement.

Day after day, social media is flooded with videos of motorists being stopped and issued tickets for what many perceive to be minor or technical infractions. Whether every video tells the full story is beside the point. The growing perception among the public is that discretion has all but disappeared and enforcement has become an end in itself.

Jamaican motorists are already carrying an enormous financial burden. Fuel prices continue to fluctuate, the cost of living continues to rise, and many families are struggling simply to make ends meet. At the same time, many of the roads that motorists must use every day remain in poor condition. In several areas, the damage left behind by recent hurricanes has yet to be adequately addressed, forcing drivers to navigate potholes, broken surfaces, and hazardous conditions.

Against this backdrop, the ever-growing list of traffic fines feels disconnected from reality. Motorists have reported being ticketed for wearing caps, missing lug nuts, eating while driving, or having a single brake light that stopped working without their knowledge. While road safety is undeniably important, one must ask whether every circumstance truly warrants an immediate financial penalty.

Consider a driver whose brake light functions perfectly when leaving home in the morning but fails unexpectedly on the journey home that night. Should that individual automatically receive a costly ticket, or should an officer exercise professional judgment by informing the driver of the problem and allowing a reasonable opportunity to correct it? A ticket issued on the roadside will not magically repair the defective light. It does not suddenly make the roadway safer. In many cases, education and discretion may accomplish far more than punishment.

This raises a broader concern. Many Jamaicans increasingly feel that motorists have become an easy source of government revenue. Whether or not this is the Government’s intention, the perception is growing that traffic enforcement has become one of the mechanisms used to help fill fiscal shortfalls. Public confidence begins to erode whenever citizens believe they are being viewed primarily as a source of revenue rather than as people deserving of fair and reasonable treatment.

What makes matters worse is the perception of unequal application of the law. The legislators and policymakers responsible for drafting many of these traffic laws are, in many cases, transported in government-owned and -maintained vehicles driven by chauffeurs. They rarely experience the daily realities faced by ordinary Jamaicans who must navigate deteriorating roads, rising fuel costs, vehicle maintenance expenses, and increasingly burdensome traffic enforcement. It is difficult for citizens not to question whether those who created these laws are ever subjected to the same level of scrutiny as those expected to obey them.

There is also a perception that government vehicles and even some police vehicles are not always held to the same standards expected of ordinary motorists. Many Jamaicans have witnessed official vehicles weaving through traffic, disregarding basic traffic etiquette, or officers driving without wearing seat belts. It is often explained that some officers choose not to wear seat belts because they believe doing so could hinder their ability to respond to a dangerous situation. Whether justified or not, such practices reinforce the public perception that different rules exist for different people.

There are also allegations that some privately owned vehicles operated by police officers or public passenger vehicles associated with law enforcement personnel receive preferential treatment during traffic stops. Personally, I have sat in public passenger vehicles in which drivers confidently assured passengers that any ticket issued would not be a concern because the vehicle’s owner is a police officer. These conversations, whether isolated incidents or indicative of a broader problem, deserve serious attention because they undermine public confidence in equal justice under the law.

None of this is to suggest that traffic laws should be ignored, quite the opposite. Every civilised society requires rules to protect lives, reduce crashes, and maintain order on our roads. However, good laws require sound judgment in their enforcement. The law should distinguish between deliberate reckless behaviour and an unforeseen mechanical failure. Enforcement should prioritise education, compliance, and public safety before punishment whenever circumstances reasonably permit.

The police have an obligation to not only enforce the law but to also serve and protect. Sometimes serving the public means exercising sound discretion, and sometimes protecting the public means helping a motorist safely resolve a problem rather than immediately imposing a financial penalty.

Jamaica does not have to follow every international trend that favours increasingly aggressive enforcement. We should aspire to be a nation where justice is measured not only by the letter of the law but also by fairness, proportionality, and common sense.

I leave our policymakers with one question: What happens when ordinary Jamaicans — especially the poor, the working class, and those already struggling to feed their families — reach their breaking point? History teaches us that societies become unstable not merely because laws exist, but because citizens lose confidence that those laws are fair, equally applied, and rooted in justice.

Our leaders would do well to remember that democracy depends not simply on elections but on maintaining the consent, trust, and confidence of the people. When citizens begin to perceive enforcement as oppression rather than protection, it is not only public confidence that is at risk, it is the very foundation upon which democratic governance rests.

St Aubyn Richards

clever2g@yahoo.com