Last Saturday, while heading home on the Mandela Highway from a prayer meeting about 1 a.m, we noticed in the distance ahead of us, a few parked cars on the side of the road in the vicinity of Six Miles. Naturally, quite a number of unpleasant, unnerving and frightening thoughts raced through our heads as we contemplated stopping and turning around, fearing it could be a hold-up.

There was not, however, the possibility of doing that, as there was no way of exiting before reaching where the cars had stopped. With our hearts pounding, the three of us in the car breathed a little prayer of faith and resigned ourselves to our fate.

As we approached, we discovered that it was a police 'speed trap' mounted by very zealous policemen who were apparently driven by an unswerving, unrelenting and focused commitment to ensuring motorists' adherence to our road traffic laws, even at that hour of the morning.

Speed trap

As we passed, the policemen seemed to be very busy processing the violators who failed to observe the police vehicle which had been hidden in the bushes in one of the darkest spots on the highway. I wonder if that is the black spot on the highway where accidents frequently occurred, hence the speed trap?'

For a long time now, I have been concerned about the dispro-portionately large number of policemen deployed by the Jamaica Constabulary Force to deal with traffic violations. While no one can argue against the absolute necessity of enforcing the strictest compliance with our road traffic laws in an attempt to reduce road fatalities and accidents, one is concerned that the same focus is apparently not being given to other equally worrisome and even more serious crimes.

The question that must be asked is whether this is the most efficient, most productive and optimal deployment of police in the context of escalating homicides, rapes, etc.

I wish Acting Commissioner Ellington a 'good knock at the crease' or good success during his new assignment and trust that he will reconsider this use of manpower and quickly redeploy his troops to the more critical and urgent areas of crime fighting.

I am, etc.,

LLOYD MAXWELL

ellmax7@yahoo.com

Kingston 6