File
Tinted windows allow criminals to sneak away undetected.

The Editor, Sir:

It is my belief that the problem that we as police personnel have in controlling crime, is ignorance. We are too dunce to all that is occurring. And because of this, we run the risk of targeting the wrong persons. We need to know.

I believe years ago, some foreign police came to Jamaica to enlighten us on the use of technology in policing and they were very surprised at the system we were using then and still managed to keep crime under some control. I heard they left even without saying goodbye because they got the impression that we were not interested in what they had to offer.

Database of troublemakers

What has happened since then is that the criminals have outgrown our system. It's not that we are not progressing - but too slowly to keep up with them. We need a system where each police station has a database of all the troublemakers in the police area and the data shared with all the other stations.

This database should include photos, electronic map showing the displacement chart of each criminal, their phone numbers, their relatives and associates and for those who've been to prison or a police lockup before, who they spent the time with in jail - because criminals often form bonds in jail and a lot of times reunite after leaving.

Once a person becomes a known troublemaker, everything about him should be captured and recorded for police knowledge. It's not that this isn't being done, but is woefully inefficient. Tons of valuable information are being lost because of the way they are stored at the stations. And lacking such vital knowledge, the police resort to measures which, in effect, make it more difficult to contain crime.

Consider the zero-tolerance approach where police prosecute each and everyone found committing any offence however minor. This is good, but the present problem with it is the police may very well lock up a man whose only crime is possessing a knife or smoking a spliff. His community or people anywhere else, probably don't have any other problem with him. He begs a chance but he is thrown into jail with hard-core criminals.

Needless to say, this man is unlikely to share information with the police after that. But my take on it is that the real hard-core professional criminal is so versed that he avoids being arrested by the police, and even if he is arrested for such minor infraction, he sits it out and is back on the streets to carry out his business as usual.

Circulating criminal data

Studies have shown that most of the men convicted for sexual offences are ganja smokers. A few weeks ago men from Mandeville shot at the Ramble police in Chester Castle. Thanks to the cooperation of residents, one of them didn't escape. When his fingerprints were taken and checked against the fingerprint records, it was revealed that he had been convicted for ganja possession before.

Now, this is a man I got to understand who committed murder and rape in Bamboo, St Ann. He is from Pineapple Place, Ocho Rios and fled to Kingston, evaded the police there then fled to Mandeville where he's involved in major criminal activities and frequents Bethel Town where he's suspected of committing murder as well. He's only 20 years old.

Just barely an adult and running circles around the police and have the entire island as his playground. He is one of many and was only stopped by luck - not by any real organised police system which we really need to take back the streets and the communities.

Neighbourhood Watch is good but will hardly make an impact if not backed up by well-sought-out knowledge base organised by the police. And while I'm on the subject of Neighbourhood Watch, I believe that, with our present crime situation, the tinting of motor vehicles being driven on the public road should be banned totally. How can you watch your neighbourhood if you can't see the persons. Tinted vehicles could be transporting hard-core criminals in and out of the communities and while persons are entitled to rights of privacy the advantage to the Neighbourhood Watch far outweighs the disadvantage to the individual.

Fugitives undermine system

Take, for instance, a man sneaking away with another man's spouse. We may see no problem with that but we may well be encouraging them sneaking away with our under-aged children as well. On several occasions, we catch all kinds of people committing immoral acts in tinted vehicles especially at nights. The car in which the men who nearly killed members of the Ramble police were travelling was heavily tinted thus giving them the advantage.

Fugitives pose a serious threat to public safety islandwide. They are mobile and opportunistic; they frequently finance their continued flight from the law through further criminal activities, which may result in criminal charges in more than one place.

Fugitives also undermine this country's criminal justice system. They may have been charged with a violation of the law but not been arrested. They may have been released on bail and then fled to avoid prosecution or, perhaps they have escaped from prison.

When fugitives flee, cases are not adjudicated, convicted criminals fail to meet their obligations, and crime victims are denied justice. Therefore, I urge all well-thinking, law-abiding persons to support the Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

Remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr: "We either live together as brothers or perish together as fools"

I am, etc.,

OMAR DUNCAN

cplduncanjukebox@yahoo.com