Heather Robinson
LAST WEEK Friday evening I received a telephone call from a policeman who, I assumed, was a member of the federated ranks i.e., constable to inspector. He asked that I write about the honest police officers who are finding it very difficult to survive on the salaries they now receive. He gave me examples of police officers who could not afford to travel home having completed their shift, and therefore resorted to sleeping in a service vehicle. The police officer also told me about how many officers have to survive with bun and cheese for their dinner as they are unable to afford anything else.
These are not new stories, but they have served to reinforce the need for our police officers to be paid better salaries. In 1993 when a constable was assigned to me from the Protective Services Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, I learnt that he was taking home about $2,000. Constables now take home between $31,000 and $33,000. He is no longer a police officer, and I know he would not mind my writing that whenever and whatever I ate, he ate, at my expense. Many parliamentarians are doing this at present. Problems arise for some officers who are unable to find persons to help in subsidising their incomes. And these persons who offer such subsidies must do so voluntarily, and not through coercion.
The most common form of corruption that police officers are charged with has to do with the taking of money to prevent prosecution for traffic offences. Those who are taken to court go as a result of the motorist informing the Office of Professional Responsibility or some other investigative arm of the force of the request for money. There was a case when a police officer took $500 and lost his job for a mere nanny. There is an allegation this week of a request for $17,000.
GOOD COPS AFFECTED
Police officers who choose this route as a means ofincreasing/replacing their incomes constitute a very, very small minority within the JCF. The behaviour of this small group has resulted in tremendous pressure being placed on the poor, clean, good behaving officers, as they are being white-washed by their dirty colleagues.
Police officers have to send their children to school, like everyone else, and sometimes this becomes the biggest burden in their lives. School fees, uniforms, lunch money and books can put officers in very vulnerable positions, and those who have never yielded are to be commended.
SOCIAL INTERVENTIONS
While all of these discussions are taking place about police salaries, there is also a lot being said about the need for social interventions in inner-city communities as a possible method of reducing criminal activity. Let us take a look at the target group for such interventions. This group consists mainly of young males, with inadequate levels of academic skills, and some are also illiterate or barely literate. At present they are "earning" a living from criminal activities such as robberies, extortion and contract murders. The rental of guns, the sale of guns, ammunition and illegal drugs are also another source of income.
These incomes do not attract the regular deductions such as income tax, NIS and NHT. Some estimate that incomes from such criminal activities range from between $20,000 to $100,000 per week for gang members, and top class "shotters" can earn between $250,000 and $500,000. A good imagination will provide you with the earning for a don.
Can any social intervention therefore adequately replace the incomes derived from such criminal activities? How do the Government, Opposition and the private sector work together to develop social interventions that can generate jobs that will compete with such earnings? Shouldn't we be working together to utilise all available technologies, forensic evidence, intelligence, clinical and psychological interventions to make our country a safe place?
Insurance companies pay income-replacement benefits to persons who become disabled and unable to perform their normal jobs as a result of an accidental injury. This benefit sees the insured receiving a portion of their regular income for a prescribed period. Persons who are unaccustomed to legitimate work will not willingly accept the replacement of their incomes with a smaller income. Our honest police officers face a tremendous challenge, as they seek to bring such criminals to justice. Honest Jamaicans have a responsibility to assist them, in whatever way we can.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
