THE EDITOR, Sir:
ONE OF the concerns expressed by the majority of Jamaicans is the constant bashing of the police by a section of the society. It is agreed generally that the behaviour of some officers is questionable and in some cases unacceptable. The conduct of these few officers too, more often than not, throws dark shadows on the whole force.
Needless to say, the well thinking Jamaicans know that most of our officers are decent, hardworking and dedicated public servants. The few demons in uniforms, being involved in varying acts of violence and irrational behaviour, must be segregated and dealt with as the law allows.
Having said that, we need to assess the situation in the force with a view to finding some way to assist the police. All Jamaicans are affected when our police force is demotivated and overworked. Based on several media reports, there is no need to wonder if conditions under which these persons work are stressful. From all indications, situations will continue to cause this stress for some time. Concerned citizens must act to help mitigate the trend.
As a concerned group, the Business and Professional Women's Club (Kingston) has considered the matter and postulates the following:
1. Some of the rash behaviour complained of can be attributed to undue stress brought on by factors like poor working conditions at the stations. When a police officer does four, six or eight hours of duty in our crime-infested society, and returns to base, it is like moving from horror to torment.
2. Officers take substances like alcohol or drugs to help them to cope. These, the doctors will tell you are very short-term fixes, and in fact can lead to dependence and further stress. The fact that some officers are seen stopping at bars indicates a need.
Concerned groups need to assist in finding solutions and offer alternatives by offering counselling, providing safe alternatives to alcohol and drugs and improving conditions at police stations.
This can be done by activating support groups in the com-munities. These would organise methods of achieving the above assistance. Further discussion of these could be had by speaking with the president of the club.
I am, etc.,
IRIS M. MYRIE
President
Business and Professional
Women's Club (Kingston)
Kingston 5
