D. K. Duncan, Contributor
"I HAVE CONSISTENTLY said that if the social issues that fuel some of the major crimes are not addressed our best efforts would be futile."
The retiring Commissioner of Police, Francis Forbes, reiterated these comments in a draft press brief dated January 3, 2005. He continued: "By virtue of successes experienced at Payne Avenue, Grants Payne, August Town and Kingston Central it was proven that social intervention and community policing are a winning combination."
Francis Forbes concluded: "However, I could not sustain this very successful venture as the funding and the supportive agencies were either absent or non-existent after being launched."
The new commissioner as well as the security minister should take note of these comments.
COMMUNITY POLICING
The outgoing commissioner revealed that "More than half the members of the force (5,000) have been formally trained as practitioners in the concepts and strategies of community-based policing." He also reported that "others have been trained to facilitate and sensitise communities and groups across the island about the requirements of policing in partnership with the community."
Anyone who knows Francis Forbes well would not be surprised at his attempts to make community policing a central focus of crime prevention and control.
From his early days as a police officer in the 1970s his commitment was evident.
Dramatic positive results from community policing are not produced overnight. It takes time to build trust and ongoing efforts to sustain it.
Assuming the task of commissioner of police in 1996 at age 45 there must have been more than a silent hope that he could have transformed the force into essentially a peacekeeping body working harmoniously with communities.
However, by that time a negative culture had developed in the security forces as a result of the Suppression of Crime and the Gun Court Acts in concert with the special squads. It is an open secret inside and outside of the security forces that Francis Forbes did not see the special squads as the centrepiece of crime control. Necessary yes, but definitely not sufficient. It must have been heart-breaking for him as it was for many Jamaicans to see these special squads and individual rogue cops commit acts which set back the process of 'trust building'.
It is an undeniable fact that apart from the problems encountered in his attempts to modernise the force through the corporate strategy plan, the controversy surrounding the paramountcy of community policing over the use of special squads was at the heart of many internal conflicts.
THE SUB-CULTURE
Promoted to the rank of assistant superintendent at age 26, attorney-at-law Francis Forbes has a profound grasp of Jamaica's sub-culture. In a presentation to a retreat of the National Security Council in June 2001, he committed to paper his understanding and experience of the nuances, motivations and characteristics of the island's inner cities.
In a revealing dissertation. he encapsulated the manifestations as well as some of the root causes of the hopelessness that pervade these geographic areas. His analysis, some suggestions for action as well as expected outcomes underline the disappointment expressed three years later as he addressed the media last week Tuesday after the announcement of his retirement.
FORBES' LEGACY
As he demits office, Commissioner Forbes can take heart from the recent survey published in last Sunday's Gleaner. In a Bill Johnson survey of over 1,300 residents, 89 per cent responded to the question 'What exactly do you think the police should be doing to reduce crime?'
Thirty-six per cent said better relationship with people expressed as better community relations: stop harassing and brutalising people, better youth relations, be more friendly. An additional 16 per cent called for more police patrols.
The training of some 5,000 officers in community policing must be sustained and expanded. The medium and long-term success in the control and prevention of crime and violence depends on its effectiveness. This could be Francis Forbes' real legacy. One love, One heart.
A dental surgeon, Dr. D. K. Duncan is a former Cabinet Minister and general secretary in the PNP administration of the 1970s.
