The Editor, Sir:

It is with great interest that I read the editorial on May 1, that speaks to the responsibility of the Prime Minister, the minister of national security and the commissioner of police. I agree with the position you have taken, and am adding this to the argument.

The little I know about the history of our police tells me that this constabulary was formed by the British to suppress black people who were dispossessed and downtrodden by the ruling class of Jamaica, who were predominantly white or of a lighter hue.

The years have taken us far from that time and we have evolved somewhat since then. I do not think that many of us have evolved to the extent that we know our responsibilty to ourselves, our family and our nation.

This does not absolve those holding public offices of their responsibilities and the need for them to hold themselves accountable to those they lead.

The history of man has shown us that if the populace does not firmly hold those in public office accountable, they will, if their value system allows them to, do what pleases them and their friends and family members first.

It will take more than those holding public offices to bring in the guns while reducing police homicide. Why?

The members of the constabulary are being culled from a people who have not yet evolved to the point where the population of many state institutions, the Jamaica Constabulary among them, even reflect the motto of the land.

Out of many, one people

True it is that the majority of the population is black people and, therefore, would be the majority in most institutions and organ-isations. Still, out of many, one people are still in the trenches facing the bullet, sipping the bile, like a choice brew. Out of many, one people fetch most, brew most for the minority who continues to treat them with snobbery, and criticises, rising to change the status quo only when it affects them directly.

We should, as a people call upon the brightest minds in ethnology, anthropology, socio-logy and all the other disciplines that have a bearing on how and why people do what they do, to address the collective anger and the other negative emotions that are at the crux of many of the social ills we have challenges with.

Forming elite, armed groups, is for the ages when man was a less-reasoning being and did not have centuries of historical data to choose the best solutions from and formulate intelligent methods that are applicable to the time in which he lives.

We are at an age when man relies more on his intellect and his wit rather than his ability to kill and maim. I, therefore, call upon academia and members of the intelligentsia to show their worth, as we Jamaicans have often done during challenging situations, to chart the course out of this downward spiral and show our excellence.

I am, etc.,

ANDREW A. BURTON

osakwe25@yahoo.com

Kingston 20

Via Go-Jamaica