By PAUL THOMPSON Sr
Former Assistant Commissioner of Police
WE ARE presently engaged in a war against criminals, who are getting bolder.
We, the good guys, must consider any action taken against a persistent, violent, murderous enemy necessary to reach the desired objective.
In the following paragraphs I will discuss those areas in which we are making remarkable progress, but where our efforts are encountering hurdles in other areas of the system.
The police
The performance of the police has been remarkable. Police officers seem undisturbed by the pressures of criticism (mostly unfair) through the media, in particular the talk shows and their hosts, who seem to enjoy police bashing.
The police force has a team of young, honest and qualified persons working in the Statistics Unit. In recent months they have been accused of dishonesty in presenting statistics on crime by the media and other reputable persons, including politicians.
The integrity of these officers is being questioned and so is the commissioner of police and his executives.
The force, for the first time in its history, is being accused of doctoring crime statistics.
For decades, there have bene accusations of police brutality made by attorneys in the defence of criminals, in particular those who have confessed to their crimes.
The recent incidents involving police officers, who are being prosecuted, is evidence that the force does not condone such conduct.
It has been noted that attorneys are making early efforts to have confessions rejected by our courts.
Police officers must conduct interrogations in a manner prescribed by the judges’ rules.
The force policy as it relates to persons in custody must be enforced to the letter. The keeping of all registers on arrests and detention, feeding and movement, etcetera, is mandatory and must be ready for production in courts if required.
As an experienced observer, I am pleased with the performance of my colleagues. In recent months I have seen an increase in the attacks on minor crimes and traffic offences.
It is obvious to the experienced eye that with the advent of school policing and Urban Renewal, police personnel had to be removed from crucial areas which has reduced the strength in those areas.
The troops of the good guys have to work longer hours and harder. Morale and loyalty is at a high level and public relations is high. There is a desire to win this war.
However, there needs to be more aggressive action in all the areas mentioned above.
Corruption
There are a number of factors which render police organisations worldwide vulnerable to corruption.
Many of those police organisations that we hold in highest esteem have their problems with corruption.
A police force is composed of people who constitute a cross-section of the community which the force exists to safeguard.
The commonplace values of that community, its norms of behaviour, are inevitably reflected in the mind of the police officers even though police officers are expected and themselves expect to live up to a higher standard of behaviour than most people.
We have all seen the disastrous effects of requiring police officers to enforce the laws which do not have the support of public opinion.
Legislators are much to blame when they pass or do not pass laws which take too little account of human nature.
In the Bahamas we have gambling laws which are systematically broken by a great many people of the working class who place bets with bookmakers and in web shops.
The betting service could not be provided unless the police turned a blind eye and it is suspected that there is a great deal of petty corruption.
Where corruption is known to exist in any part of a police organisation, the mischief goes far beyond the depredations of the individuals concerned.
I do not believe that there is very much corruption in our police service. I have a great deal of confidence in the organisation.
I am convinced that a high proportion of police officers in our country would be glad to be relieved of the burden of knowing that a dishonest minority exists.
The force is doing its best to identify and rid itself of that small minority.
We shoot to live, not to kill
The average citizen cannot possibly imagine how suddenly a routine traffic stop and intervention at a police checkpoint can turn sour.
In the movies the bad guys can be seen planning and calculating their next crime and when confronted by us good guys the confrontation becomes violent.
We have to dive for cover and call for back-up. Scores of rounds are fired.
In real life such a scene almost never happens. In real life the violence against the good guys explodes without warning and lasts just seconds.
In that short space of time someone is dead or screaming in agony.
If the suspect is down, the officer will cuff him and call for an ambulance.
If the suspect is bleeding profusely the officer will try to administer First Aid and save the life of the man who had just tried to kill him.
Officers have even been known to pray at such moments pleading with God to spare the assailant’s life.
Public critics of the officer’s action adds to his concern.
If, on the other hand, the officer is on the ground, more likely than not the suspect will walk over to him point his still smoking gun to the officer’s head and pull the trigger.
He will steal the officers weapon and flee into the night.
Our law enforcement officers, the good guys, are exposed to this type of violence at all times on or off duty.
In present day confrontations with violent criminals armed with modern weapons, there is no time to talk a suspect down, no time to shoot the weapon out of his hand, no time to aim from cover of concealment and fire to wound.
Officers must aim for the centre mass of the body and continue to fire until the threat is ended.
The lives of the critics were not on the line. It was the officers.
He has only seconds to decide on the action he must take when faced with such violence.
Our law enforcement officers would prefer to have to engage attorneys than to have to visit the morgue and make arrangements for funeral services.
Yet there are those in politics, the media and human rights groups who criticise police killings without even knowing the circumstances involved.
We must support our police force
The force’s mission statement: “The force, in partnership with all citizens, residents and visitors, exists to provide a quality of law enforcement service with emphasis on the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of the peace, the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of all laws with which it is charged. We shall perform our duties in a manner which respects individual human rights and which reflects fairness sensitivity and compassion. Yet we shall act in firm pursuit of all offenders of our laws so as to ensure a safe and just society where neither crime nor fear of crime adversely affects the quality of life. We shall accomplish our goals with a high degree of professionalism through leadership and teams of individuals who are competent ethical and dedicated. We shall discharge our duties with courage integrity loyalty and being ever mindful of a changing environment with a willingness to embrace justified criticism and the need for change.”
We have the leadership and teams of individuals who are competent, ethical and dedicated who are working continuously to accomplish these goals.
The politicians must provide for their needs without interference, the media must desist from destructive criticism designed to discredit the executive team and the public must provide support.
We have to engage the enemy as a single unit and hope for rapid victory.
Capital punishment
I recall the failure of the West Indian Federation which was buried in the ballot boxes of a Jamaican referendum 51 years ago when Dr Eric Williams coined the phrase “One from ten equals zero”. Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago,the first two to shed the yoke of colonialism, are still tied to Britain’s Privy Council as their final appellate court.
Our politicians in the Bahamas continue with an endless word game about accessing the Caribbean Court of Justice.
This is not a legacy that Eric Williams, Norman Manley, Grantley Adams and Lynden Pindling would have wanted to perpetuate, but it remains the political burden sustained by politicians of several CARICOM nations.
There appears to be a reluctance to being judged by our own people. It confirms what has been said by me and others in the Caribbean before: we can unite in cricket and our music, but not in politics.
The Privy Council’s decision in the Maxo Tido murder case has convinced me that capital punishment will never be enforced as long as the Privy Council remains our final court of appeal.
• Part I of this article can be found at: http://www.tribune242.com/news/2013/jul/15/war-against-criminals-part-1/?opinion
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