Soldiers, police and stress

AGAIN, SOLDIERS are to be put on the streets of the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew to assist the police in the fight against violent crime which is steadily destabilising the society.

In furtherance of this, the Jamaica Defence Force has called out certain members of the 3rd Battalion, Jamaica Regiment (National Reserve), to provide the assistance required.

Over the years there have been 'Operation Ardent', 'Operation Shining Armour' and several more initiatives which sought to flood the street with soldiers and, by this means, put a lid on criminal violence, especially in the inner-city communities of the Corporate Area and in some resort areas.

The truth is that in the last three years the military and the police have been stretched almost to the limits of their endurance, ensuring security at locations ranging from international football matches to prison riots to violent outbreaks in a slew of inner-city communities..

It is well known that the Jamaica Constabulary is short of personnel. When this fact is coupled with the frequency with which the police and soldiers have been sent to quell shooting wars among gangs in inner-city communities where, more often than not, they are jeered, mocked, ridiculed, taunted and insulted, it comes as no surprise that many policemen and soldiers find themselves well over their thresholds of stress.

We would hope that this time around, before these part-time soldiers ­ because that is what the reserves are ­ are sent to these volatile areas to help man cordons and curfews and conduct searches in assistance to the police, they will be given two or three days of proper psychological and human rights counselling.

Only in this way will they be able to remain calm and focused, perform their duties without fear or favour, earn the respect of the residents of the communities in which they operate and help to restore public confidence, so well needed, in the security forces of our land.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.

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