BISHOP HERRO Blair as head of the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) has a difficult row to hoe. He and his team are expected to go into communities at war with each other or across borders, exercising the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon and then attempt to defuse tension. To achieve any success they have to be prepared to listen to all sides of a conflict and attempt to get a cessation of hostilities. This is a most difficult job at the best of times.
Understandably, some members of the police force are not happy at the prospect of persons whom they have good reason to believe are the primary perpetrators of crime being accorded a place at the "negotiating table" and being treated with some degree of respectability.
It is this expressed displeasure on the part of some members of the police force, which seems to be causing a wavering on the part of Bishop Blair. As reported in yesterday's edition, Bishop Blair is very concerned that his team is being criticised for meeting with persons labelled as known criminals.
He has said he is considering resigning. Bishop Blair should do nothing of the sort. He should stay the course and continue to be a channel through which the aggrieved parties can air their concerns and complaints, and seek redress. This sometimes helps to give them an assurance that they are not alone in their struggles and reduces the likelihood of every man being a law unto himself. This is not a job that the police can do effectively.
This is not to suggest that success can only be achieved through the efforts of Bishop Blair and the PMI , but it is an important intervention that should not be scoffed at.
Doubtless there are policemen and women for whom there is an easy solution obliterate the criminals, no questions asked. This would also find favour with large segments of the Jamaican population. The danger with this kind of approach of course is that invariably, the good are made to suffer for the bad.
The extent to which the police are frustrated that known criminals are being allowed to sit down at the table is the extent to which they are failing in their jobs.
It would seem to us that the police should be more interested in examining the weaknesses in their own investigative techniques that continually allow the "known" criminals to elude them.
We urge Bishop Blair and the rest of the PMI team not to lose focus, but to continue to play their part in reducing inter and intra-community fighting.
