THE EDITOR, Sir:
A QUESTION on our minds at this time is: should we grant powers of search, arrest and detention to our soldiers? As a reaction to the high levels of gun-related crimes, I, like many of my compatriots, would be inclined to agree that we should. I would, however, wish to counsel caution.
If the reported abuse of these powers by our police is anything to go by, then we must be very thoughtful in our actions. After all the police who have been specially trained in this area can't seem to get it right. Could we be compounding the problem by handing these powers to our soldiers on the platter of an "amendment to the law"?
In my opinion the very use of soldiers to patrol our streets is inappropriate and possibly counterproductive. To the informed onlooker it is a symptom of social instability not a guarantee of stability.
In 1968, I witnessed soldiers performing police functions on the streets of three countries that I visited. I came away with the distinct impression that these countries were unstable. I can only wonder what impressions are being created in the minds of those who are now witnessing our situation.
We do need to bolster the strength and reach of our police force and to this end I make a suggestion. Could we re-train a number of our soldiers and integrate them within the police force? Some of these men who are highly trained in weaponry could form part of an elite squad that could not be so easily held at bay by one or two gunmen on Jacques Road or anywhere else.
Correspondingly the size of our standing army could be reduced and complemented by a reserve force. These reserves could include graduates of our Cadet Corps in the secondary schools.
We should, finally, revisit the role of education and training, for all our children, in the fight against crime and violence and other social ills plaguing the country.
I am, etc.,
KENNETH N. BINGHAM
Kingston
