THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE RECENT murder of Detective Corporal Dave Daley generated much reaction from some members of the hierarchy of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) of which he had served for 20 years. The salient point arising from this reaction has been lost on many of us.

Following closely on the death of Detective Daley, a number of 'big trousers' within the JCF made the point, and were quoted in the media as saying, that this Detective Corporal's sudden death was a loss to the force. Such descriptions and praise as, "he was a bright investigator", "he was among the best" and "he was brilliant" were all said of Mr. Daley. Notwithstanding all of this, in life, no recognition by way of any real promotion came to Mr. Daley. He remained after 20 years of service, a Detective Corporal of police. The rank of Superintendent or even Sergeant of police seemed to have eluded him.

On March 3, 2007 (two days after his birthday), Detective Corporal Daley was laid to rest. In attendance at his funeral were a number of high-ranking police officers some of whom again paid glowing tributes to Mr. Daley. In one of the tributes, it came to light that over the years, prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had in the past, made representation to the then Commissioner of Police that Mr. Daley be promoted. It was even borne out that Mr. Daley, by way of his skillful investigation, had been associated with the first case in Jamaica's history to become the locus classicus on the admissibility of video tape recording into evidence. Indeed, there were also praises for Mr. Daley from members of the private bar attesting to his sense of impartiality and fairness in the conduct of the cases which he brought before the court.

In light of all of this, one must ask the question: Why did Mr. Daley remain at the rank of Corporal of Police? In instances where police are brutally killed, oftentimes high-ranking members of the force point to the deafening silence of such organisations as Jamaicans for Justice and Families Against State Terrorism. In this instance, the silence among the high-ranking members of the force as to why Mr. Daley was never promoted beyond the rank of Detective Corporal is deafening. One wonders how many other Dave Daleys there are within the constabulary force who, for some inexplicable reason, have not been promoted to higher ranks.

If we as Jamaicans are serious about crime reduction in our beloved country, then we must not only focus on more resources to meet the ever-increasing needs, but we must put an end to internal victimisation within the JCF which, from all appearances, seems to be alive and well.

Detective Corporal Dave Daley is gone but not forgotten. May his soul rest in peace.

I am, etc.,

PETER CHAMPAGNIE

Attorney-at-Law

57 Laws Street, Kingston