Police productivity?
published: Wednesday | November 16, 2005

THE EDITOR, Sir:

ACCORDING TO UWI economics student, Anthony Woodburn, in the October 28 Financial Gleaner, Fitz Jackson's recent statement heard on a radio programme indicated that a productivity-linked compensation plan for the police will be introduced once the current MoU expires in 2006. Mr. Woodburn wonders just how the levels of productivity for police and teachers will be determined.

Surely, the methods of assessing productivity in these services would have been determined before such plans for productivity-linked payment were announced. We wonder why they have not yet been presented for public scrutiny and comment. On the other hand, who would want the job of coming up with a reasonably fair way of evaluating the 'productivity' of individual policemen and teachers? Is the policeman or policewoman to be paid by the number of arrests made, or tickets given, or will it be by the quality and quantity of the reports handed in? Is the teacher to be paid for the exam passes achieved (in a development process depending massively on entry-level and earlier teaching), or perhaps for the number of extra-curricular activities facilitated?

I am, etc.,

PETER ERICSON

Golden Spring, St. Andrew