JAMAICANS HAVE, for the most part, been encouraged by the attitude of the new police chief, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, and are investing in his promise, declared and implied, to overhaul the constabulary. They like his no-nonsense statements, believe that he really means business, can't be intimidated and is incorruptible.

Indeed, we sense that this confidence in Commissioner Lewin has shaped, despite its often simplistic and hyperbolic analysis of the country's situation, Amnesty's most objective report yet on Jamaica's human rights situation.

While Amnesty continues to highlight the high levels of police homicides in the island, has accused the Jamaican state of being complicit in the murder of its poorest citizens and has impugned the integrity of the judiciary, it does suggest that efforts are being made at improvement. It is unfortunate that the report, at least in tone, seems to diminish much of the efforts of the recent past and appears to imply that any serious approach to the reform of the constabulary and delivery of justice is coincidental with the change of administration.

Commissioner Lewin's posture is among the positives identified by Amnesty. But, as the police chief has pointed out, whatever we may think about the fairness of assessments of Amnesty International, or any other agency, what, in the final analysis is important, is whether we give reasons for there to be negative reports. That there were more than 270 police homicides in Jamaica is fact, and many believe that many of these were extrajudicial executions.

"By way of response, it is not something I will nitpick about," the police chief said last week. "As far as I am concerned, the real issue is what we are going to do about it and this is where we have to focus." We agree.

What we would like from Commissioner Lewin, however, is a far more comprehensive outline of the qualitative and quantitative achievements he expects and the time frame for arriving at them.

We understand that the commissioner has been in the job for a relatively short period of time and that given the resource constraints he faces and the complexity of the Jamaican environment, making firm predictions can be difficult and problematic. That notwithstanding, modern management demands quantitative analyses and data-led goal setting.

It is not enough, we think, for us to wait until Amnesty comes back and, perhaps, "applauds us for improvements we have made". What is more important is for Jamaicans to be aware of the goals we have set for ourselves and whether we are achieving them.

This is not to set up benchmarks against which to highlight failures, but one strategy to encourage institutional and societal buy-in and to provide an objective basis against which we can test the efficacy of strategies being employed. Perhaps Admiral Lewin and his High Command have these quantitative benchmarks. If so, they should share them with the public.