Civilians, not combatants
published: Thursday | February 5, 2004
THE EDITOR Sir,
IT HAS now been verified, that the police tend not to patrol the inner city communities, by the declaration that these are war zones and they are peace keepers. The people who live in these communities are civilian and not combatants. There are hard-working people, children and productive members of society in these communities.
Soldiers are not trained to patrol civilians. They are trained to kill the enemy with acceptable collateral damage. So for the Police to say that they do not want to go into these communities is to further disenfranchise large sectors of our country. Serve and protect is their motto and duty. This duty may not be easy or safe but it is an obligation and a responsibility that comes with putting on the police uniform.
The Police should try to use more proactive approaches when dealing with these area such as the careful selections of their words. The words "WAR ZONE" promote an US and THEM mentality right away. If the police decide to run with their tail between their legs from their duty, the 'war zones' could eventually spread to the rest of Jamaica as these disenfranchised people will say since we are already classified as being at "WAR" let's bring the war to the rest of Jamaica.
