Orville Taylor

With great optimism I watched the smoke dissipate from the Riverton City landfill and imagined that it symbolised a brighter year. Indeed, the prophets promised mostly sunshine under the reign of the anointed one.

The year 2006 ended with a steady decline in the homicide rate, a reduction in inflation and falling unemployment. For a fleeting moment, the focus was on another type of killing, that of the malaria-carrying anopheles mosquito. After all, the smoke from Riverton was quite effective in reducing the population of all mosquitoes and even threatened to annihilate a few 'fine-footed' skinny people who could not handle the smog.

Then, reality hit us with a 'bang;' actually several bangs, as the death count rose with a spike as sharp as daggers of destruction. At the end of the week, the toll had reached just about 30, with an average of around five persons being killed each day.

Even more alarming is the return to attacks on the security forces, in a manner reminiscent of the undeclared war by criminal elements in 2005. In the first three days, two policemen and their relatives were gunned down. On Friday morning, a member of the Island Special Constabulary was shot in a brazen daylight onslaught, as he handed a traffic ticket to a motorist. As we pray for his full recovery, it is understood that he was in critical condition when this column began.

On Thursday, the figures could have been even higher because a marked police patrol car in the St. Andrew South division of the constabulary was fired upon by persons whom, I suspect are known assailants. Officer in charge of the division, Superintendent Newton Amos, speaks with great determination and conviction that the perpetrators would be caught, within the confines of the law. Doubtless, he is saying that their criminal train of activity will be stopped dead in its tracks.

'Golding' year

However, this is the year when the Member of Parliament for Amos' division, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, is expected to call elections and Opposition Leader Bruce is expecting a 'Golding' year. Nonetheless, some pundits are predicting no such thing, expecting him to retain the silver medal. Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas is bracing for increased political violence and is ready to confront it.

It is also the year when the World Cup of cricket is being co-hosted and we just cannot afford to have an anarchical situation. The increased murder rate is one thing; the homicide of police personnel is another matter.

In many jurisdictions it is a capital offence to kill police or any member of the judicial system. This includes clerks of the court, judges or members of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

If this were an earlier period in our history, attacks of any sort on our security forces could be deemed treasonous because it was an assault on our system of governance and hence, social order itself. Generally, treason involves, "attempting to overthrow the government ... ; or betraying the state to a foreign (enemy) power."

Given that law officers are custodians of our governmental system, one would only need to attack an officer with the intention of occasioning serious bodily harm, including, but not limited to death.

This, therefore, brings us once more to the death penalty argument. Our human rights groups argue that the old Mosaic law of an 'eye for an eye' is barbaric and as Mahatma Mohandas Ghandi declared, "... would leave the whole world blind." Supporting this position are many Christian denominations, spearheaded by the Roman Catholic Church. The fact is the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus Christ, in particular, do not support the death penalty. Furthermore, the sociological evidence is that execution is not a deterrent to recidivists (repeat offenders). Finally, the British Privy Council, that we hold on to like a spoilt child who refuses to be weaned, although his mother no longer produces good milk, says, 'No hanging, children!'

After all, the little darkies in the ex-colonies can't govern their little pieces of rock without their help.

No Moral Authority

Still, I support the death penalty. First, the British and least of all Prime Minister Tony Blair, have no moral authority to tell us not to hang. Face it! They helped to capture Saddam Hussein and handed him over to the local Iraqis, with the full knowledge that he would have been convicted and executed. Second, murderers are able to extend their influence from within the prison walls and conspire to kill 'free' members of the population. More so, many convicts on death row and 'lifers,' continue by killing their fellow inmates. If they had been executed, they would not have been able to do so.

What we know is that the major deterrent is not the penalty of death via execution. After all, a known or suspected murderer is more likely to meet his maker while 'engaging the police in a shootout' or attacking them with strange weapons than by hanging around for infinite appeals.

The real fear that the criminals need is to feel is that of being discovered or captured. Two things have to be done: first, the police need high tech and 'I tech.' With the liberalisation of the market, cheap white Japanese deportees are available. This makes the criminals not only upwardly mobile but also laterally and nationally. On top of this, cellphones (including 'cell' phones of inmates) make crime easier.

Second, the police need more co-operation of the citizens. All murders are committed by people who 'we know'. We have to learn to understand that along with the I tech and high tech we also need 'eye tek.'

Dr. Orville Taylor is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.