The Editor, Sir:

It is futile to only lament the sordid state of the police force. It is also short-sighted to simply blame the police. The force answers to leaders. The state of the force is a reflection of leadership or lack of it. The force has been allowed to fall into its corrupt state because of the policies pursued by, at best, misguided political and operational leadership, not just constabulary leadership.

Let us not fool ourselves. The force is what we make it or allow it to be. The cops are not about to reform themselves. They are a reflection of the wider society. While we lament, some rejoice. And there is enough money 'out there' to keep the force corrupt and to make it more corrupt.

Top priority

Security or lack of it is at the top of the nation's agenda. We ignore it at our peril. The 'confession' is another wake-up call for urgent action, not another yawning back-to-bed nine-day wonder. So which political party will come up with a firm action plan to deal with this matter before the next set of elections?

How about setting up independent bodies in at least two competing regions to deal with this matter? How about widely publicising their successes monthly? How about 'weeding in' police if 'weeding out' proves too difficult? That is, start with a new clean core force and allow that core to take in only those cops that it deems clean. Keep it growing and keep it clean! The possibilities are endless, but we must note that any anti-corruption drive will fail if the effectiveness of the courts is not urgently addressed in parallel.

Let us not just lament. We have been doing this for years with little positive results. Let us now turn a new page and propose positive and pragmatic solutions. No excuse is good enough! Leaders, you must lead!

I am, etc.,

NORMAN KING

nkingjam@yahoo.com

May Pen P.O.

Via Go-Jamaica