WE COMMEND the courage of Police Superintendent Kenneth Wade, commanding officer for St. Catherine North, in stating that support by the PNP helped to fuel the criminality of the 'Clansman' gang whose leader, Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett, was killed by the police in an alleged shootout.
He named no names but in general terms what he said served to confirm the common knowledge that the 'Clansman' gang is associated with the PNP in the same way that the 'One Order' gang is associated with the JLP. We salute the superintendent for having the courage of his convictions in his difficult task of bringing criminals to book in Spanish Town. He has thought it necessary in the circumstances of the violent reaction to 'Bulbie's' death by some Spanish Town residents to bring the issue to public attention.
In this connection, we note that courage can be contagious. The PNP's Heather Robinson, as far back as 1996, resigned from Parliament because she refused to associate with Spanish Town dons. This was a courageous act. In what he has said, Superintendent Wade may well have hurt his own prospects for promotion in the force, and it is courageous of him to take this risk. It seems to us that if more senior policemen were as fearless in telling the public what they know, the process of getting more criminal convictions would be enhanced.
There is a huge divide between the neutering effect of what is called 'political correctness' and the danger of reckless accusations. We do not think that the superintendent crossed this line and the cliché response of Mrs. Sharon Hay-Webster that he must produce proof demonstrates perhaps that 'the lady doth protest too much'. She was not specifically targeted by the superintendent's analysis of the situation and, given the turmoil in Spanish Town, there are many others to whom his remarks might apply.
The Parliamentary Code of Conduct prohibiting association with known criminals emerged as a result of immense public pressure to deal with a known fact of political life in Jamaica. Superintendent Wade is merely reinforcing the purpose of the code. Indeed, he was also echoing what Minister of National Security Peter Phillips himself stated in Parliament on May 19, in his contribution to the Sectoral Debate. He condemned unnamed parliamentary colleagues for links with the illegal drug trade, and called on politicians to sever ties with dons involved with drugs and violence.
"We cannot send confusing or wrong signals to some of our constituents and the general public by maintaining such relationships," the minister said. That surely was a confirmation of the still continuing ties between politics and crime.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
