By Dennie Quill, ContributorCOMMISSIONER FRANCIS Forbes has confirmed what we knew all along. The much-vaunted crime plan announced in December 2002 has failed. Long before the Commissioner's honest admission, the daily dispatches from CCN and media reports had painted the horrible picture of a continual war being waged on defenceless citizens with the result being almost complete victory for the criminals.
Much to my chagrin, I found out recently that I was now a member of the most popular club in Jamaica, enrolled forcibly. It's made up of persons who had lost loved ones or who know of people who had been slain, wounded, raped, assaulted or robbed. Perhaps you are a member of that club too.
Beautiful Jamaica has become a country where the law that governs normal people is seen as a nuisance and roundly ignored by an increasing number of our citizens. And so scores of families in cities and townships across the country have been shattered by the actions of criminals who have killed or horribly altered the lives of loved ones.
We must hold the JCF and the Government accountable for this dilemma. Better policing tactics and greater resources have seen many crime-infested cities reverse the negative trends. New York City is the best example of this where a new crime manual was written. The core of this strategy was an accurate daily tracking of crime patterns. There is nothing wrong with borrowing ideas that have worked for other countries.
NEW CREATIVE APPROACH
It is obvious that the Jamaica Constabulary Force is in urgent need of a new creative approach to improving national security and public safety. It seems like we have been employing the same crime-fighting methods over many decades, while the criminal has become more sophisticated.
I would like to know to what extent National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips and Commissioner Forbes hold Divisional Commanders accountable for what happens under their watch and whether they are compelled to perform. In the real world, non-performers are not able to hold their jobs and it should not be any different in the Police Force.
Take the issue of dishonest employment agencies. This newspaper recently reported that several job-hungry persons have been swindled by agencies that have promised them jobs where none exist. This is an old story. Yet the feeble response from the police suggested that it was so difficult to apprehend these criminals because they have no fixed base. What has happened to traditional street-level detective work? For my part, if crime of this nature were happening in my area I would find a solution. These employment agencies advertise in the media and they have contact numbers, how difficult is it for the police to go undercover and apprehend them?
BRAZEN
One of the strongest deterrents to crime is the fear of being caught. Lately, the Jamaican criminal has become snug in the knowledge that he is not likely to be caught. Nothing illustrates this better than the recent experience of a Kingston businesswoman. She was held up at gunpoint and her car taken away as she tried to enter her home at the end of a hard day's work. Would you believe the criminals were brazen enough to answer her cell phone? Her car was spotted in Linstead being driven in the most carefree manner with very little attempt to disguise it. And in this case, the woman had made much more progress in investigating the movement of her car than the police. This column is solutions-oriented and like the Commissioner and the Minister, we have been biting our fingers to the bones, thinking of possible ways to squelch the high-level of criminal activity. It is grossly unfair for the taxpayer to be asked to pay for the service of private security firms to protect life and property. This cannot be the answer to the crime wave.
One thing is sure, the likelihood of effective police response to crime increases proportionately as the accuracy of crime intelligence grows. So it seems that the police should aggressively recruit new crime-fighting eyes and ears. From what I hear the taxi network is an excellent starting point. I understand that cabbies have been known to help in the recovery of stolen motor vehicles. The insurance companies must be taking a hefty beating from auto theft and they should consider working with the cabbies and offering them incentives for their assistance.
THE MEDIA
I think the media would also be willing to help the police apprehend these criminals. JIS, the Government media, has been given free air time could not the police use this daily programme to read out the list of stolen motor vehicles?
I believe the police have a pretty good idea of the most vulnerable areas for car theft. Could not CCN put out a warning to motorists? The idea of effective policing means having the ability to identify potential problems and stop them before they fester.
Mr Minister, remember that information is power. The police can only overcome the war on crime if they have better information than the criminal. This means the JCF should be retooled and given the necessary technological resources to enable them to have access to relevant data about crime patterns and the offenders. And as we contemplate new hi-tech highways criss-crossing Jamaica, I hope that provision is being made for the installation of emergency electronic bulletin boards in the future.
Finally, if you are not an ally in the war against crime then you are an enemy. Which one are you?
Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist.
