THE EDITOR, Sir:
AS I listened to Prime Minister Patterson showering high praise on the Jamaica Constabulary Force for valiant effort, a humorous little Spanish story I learned in high school more than two decades ago came promptly back to mind.
The story tells of a young lady who was being interviewed for a job. She had just left school and had no work experience to speak of. On reviewing the young lady's application, the interviewer noticed the salary she was demanding and asked her how she would justify seeking so high a salary when she had so little to offer by way of knowledge and skills. Her reply was that she would have to put forth much greater effort attempting to do a job for which she was not qualified and so the harder one had to work, the more money one should be paid!
Effort expended with no commensurate levels of return is effort wasted. Failure to meet performance expectations is never occasion for congratulations.
Rather, it is opportunity to give appropriate encouragement and to take corrective action to bring about desired improvement.
Reward and accolades ought properly to be reserved for achievement, not for mere effort, however brilliant.
How can a record of performance such as our police force has had where we have become the murder capital of the world and only a tiny minority of crimes are ever detected and "cleared-up", merit high praise? If the tools are not being provided to do a professional job, it seems to me immoral to remain in the post, nonetheless collecting wages for services made impossible to deliver.
If there is to be hope for the future, we are going to have to face present realities squarely and come to terms with them honestly.
I am, etc.,
GEORGE CHRISTIE
St. Catherine
