In time, he will probably have no use for the signal for all the operators of taverns, proprietary clubs, wholesales and similar establishments in Allman Town, where Inspector Cummings heads the police station, will be well versed in their opening and closing hours.

Then, at the next review of the crime statistics in Kingston, there will be a decline in criminal offences in Allman Town. Or that, taking the issue to what Inspector Cummings would claim to be a farcical extreme, seems to be his expected outcome.

problems of implementation

Yet, if he thinks about it seriously, Inspector Cummings, like this newspaper, will appreciate both the farce and practical problems of implementation that are inherent in his initiative.

The issue, apparently, is that like other areas in Jamaica, Allman Town in central Kingston is suffering from high levels of crime. Inspector Cummings, rightly, wants to do something about it - which is part of his job.

So, he is invoking an 81-year-old law, the Spirit Licence Act, that regulates the opening hours of bars and how people who serve in bars must dress.

unenforced law

Under the law, unenforced for decades, bars, on weekdays, including Saturdays, are to open no earlier than 7 a.m and must close by 11 p.m. On Sundays, they are allowed to open at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then close at 6 p.m., for at least two hours. At reopening, they have to be closed by 8 p.m. By the way, in dress, under that law, barmaids are not allowed to show armpits or wear dresses or pants that are too short.

Inspector Cummings has told the tavern owners in the community that the rules must be "strictly adhered to" as "part of our anti-crime drive". Late-opening bars, we are told, "provide a sort of meeting place" for criminals.

Now, that's a fine piece of intelligence. If the police know that criminals congregate at bars, why not just arrest them when they gather for drinks? That seems far simpler than having to determine where they will congregate in the future.

However, 80 years is a long time, during which social mores and patterns of commerce have shifted - so too have concepts about individual liberty. If people want to drink at bars until after midnight, why not? That, of course, is not an issue for police inspectors, but for legislators!

There will be legitimate questions about whether this is Inspector Cummings' personal initiative, or one to be rolled out across the island. What happens in nearby Campbell Town? Can someone have a late-night drink in Rollington Town or Vineyard Town? We wonder, too, if the taste of a cold beer is enhanced by a barmaid dressed in a habit.

The point is that while we wish Inspector Cummings well, we believe that there are more creative ways to attack the problem than regulating the opening hours of bars.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.