ATTACKING POLICE stations or shooting at policemen is a sad reversal of the attitudes of fear or respect with which these guardians of law were once held. This is manifested at the most basic level where lawmen confront criminal gangs often equipped with illegal weapons of high quality.
The reported shoot-outs suggest pitched street battles as between forces on par. The impression is given of criminal sophistication outpacing the capacity to contain it.
This view of the matter is supported at the highest level confirming that international linkages with drug trafficking, for example, are part of the local crime problem. Indeed the billions of dollars involved in that kind of traffic make credible the claim by the Minister of National Security about serious levels of corruption in the constabulary.
The inference, of course, is that the corruption is not confined to police ranks but must of necessity spread more widely elsewhere in the society to be effective and profitable.
What effective anti-crime plans must seek to achieve is not simply to restore fear and respect for policemen. That in large part must come from updated basic training for a higher calibre of recruit. At the management levels of the Force we expect that sophisticated training in the latest technologies will come from the latest overseas contacts in Britain and North America.
The whole complex of jurisprudence, including the Office of the DPP and the operations of the courts, must all be seen as part of the containment of crime.
Ordinary citizens, be they members of lobby groups or watchdogs of human rights, must maintain their vigilance; but they should always be mindful that the good policeman represents the ultimate bulwark of public safety. They need the support of good citizens.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
