The Editor, Sir:

MY subject is the proposed withdrawal of M16 assault rifles from the JCF and their replacement with MP5s which are considered to be less lethal. Pardon me for being sceptical, but doesn't an Mp5 use 9mm ordnance (38cal) which leaves the gun barrel at around 900 feet per second in automatic mode and fires eight or nine hundred rounds a minute. A full magazine would empty in less time than it would take to say it.

How would this weapon be any less lethal than an M16 which, although higher in power, has a smaller round at 5.56mm and uses NATO rounds which are full metal jacket designed to penetrate but not to fragment in the body (designed to wound)? My purpose in quoting this information is to illustrate that any gun of any calibre will wound or kill you if someone fires it in an inappropriate manner.

Poorly-trained policeman

The fault is not the weapon but the poorly-trained policeman using it. I know that the JCF are adequately trained in the mechanics of firing a firearm but where is the evidence that they are sufficiently trained to know WHEN to use it. The thing is the JCF are in danger of losing the battle against criminals that are armed with AK47 kalashnikoffs, A2 M16s, 45 magnums etc. if the JCF downsize, unless there is an agenda to use the army on shootouts in the future. That's a very scary scenario. Big potential for collateral damage there!

I firmly believe that this proposal by Commissioner Hardley Lewin is just paying lip service to Jamaican public opinion and is not addressing the real problem. As a foreigner, I've noticed that Jamaicans do this a lot.

I am, etc.,

RED FOX

Kitson Town,

St Catherine