Forbes, left, and Fr. Albert
SENIOR OFFICERS of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) were flooded with telephone calls from Jamaicans living as far as New York City, during Thursday night's sixth Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica sponsored phone-in session in Kingston.
Apart from making suggestions and passing on what the police described as vital information, the callers raised concerns about some specific crime-related issues such as car-jackings, night noises, traffic violations and the non-involvement of young people in organised activities.
"We got some tips dealing with drugs and we started dealing with them before we got off the phone. Some of the tips were useful and we are encouraging more of these calls," said Police Commissioner Francis Forbes, who was among a number of senior officers manning the phone lines.
According to the Commissioner, some callers questioned why the police kept publicising curfews ahead of them being imposed. They are of the opinion that once the curfew is made public, the police will never find the wanted men and illegal guns.
"For the record, we do not advertise curfews before we implement them. What we do, we are required by law to announce the curfews," he explained.
"We are encouraging people that if they don't know a policeman or find it difficult to approach a policeman to make a complaint, they can call Crime Stop at 1-888-991-4000.
Mr. Forbes said complaints against the police on Thursday were fewer than other sessions. Instead more people made "innovative suggestions" to deal with the various crime problems.
One caller from New York suggested that whenever a member of the police force was killed, the police should immediately flood the community with police personnel where the killing took place, until the cop killer was found.
Another caller wanted to see changes to some of the laws. One caller invited the Commissioner to begin using technology to assist with the investigations of crime.
Monsignor Richard Albert, who was also among the panel of persons manning the phone lines, said a number of callers expressed an interest in seeing an increased police presence on the streets and the lawmen taking a zero-tolerance approach to crime.
"Some of the callers commended us on the new crime initiatives," said acting Deputy Commissioner Jevene Bent.
The country's Crime Chief, Deputy Commissioner Lucius Thomas, said the calls he dealt with were concerned with drugs, night noises and the existing deplorable conditions at some police stations.
Former president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, Anthony Chang, also took some of the calls.
The phone-in sessions provide an opportunity for the police to clear up misconceptions and give the public a chance to call in confidential information to the lawmen.
