The Editor, Sir:

I am amazed at the constant criticism and comparisons made about the Jamaican police by the many 'experts' who have no idea of the problems faced, but instead choose to look at the situation from their myopic point of view. There are many in Jamaica who love to compare the Jamaica Constabulary Force with police departments around the world, and the Government even went as far as recruiting overseas cops to solve the problems of corruption and police force excess.

The irony of the situation is (1) The overseas cops are properly compensated in their countries. (2) The crime situation in their country does not in any way mimic the crime situation in Jamaica. (3) The overseas cops are more than likely extensively trained for the type of crime fighting they face in THEIR country. These factors beget the questions: Is it fair to compare Jamaican police with their foreign counterparts, and is it really beneficial to import foreign cops?

Simple solutions

I do not believe there is a real desire by the Government to control/eradicate crime and to improve the police force because the solutions are quite simple:

(1) The police need adequate salary compensation to ensure that they can live in decent neighbourhoods and are not subject to public transportation (how can you effectively deal with criminals if you live and take the bus alongside them and their cronies?)

(2) After adequate salary is provided increase drastically the sentence for police found guilty of corruption (greed would now be the reason, not need).

(3) Proper and intensive training in firearm use and accuracy, especially for front-line cops (if you have confidence in your ability to shoot you will wait the extra second to be sure of your target and to ensure it is necessary to shoot, hence reducing claims of use of excessive force).

For those who love to make comparisons with especially North American police departments research carefully and you will see that these requirements are met. Of course, it will be said this takes a lot of money and we cannot afford to. The real question, however, is can we afford not to?

I am, etc.,

PAUL MAY

paulmontgomery123@hotmail.com

183 Grove Street, Bloomfield, NJ

Via Go-Jamaica