Public Defender Howard Hamilton's call for members of the security forces to admit to having made mistakes when they kill persons innocently, is not without merit but it needs clarification.
The admission of mistakes may not reduce tension between the wider public and the police. In fact, it might exacerbate the problem. If the police continue in the vein of discharging gunshots indiscriminately in highly tense situations, then admitting to taking innocent lives or causing persons to be injured from police bullets will only deepen the anger among the civilian population.
Admission of guilt would also raise another dynamic, that of compensation to the victims or their families. Confessions might ease Mr. Hamilton's job of seeking compensation for the victims but what is the disincentive to make the police alter their conduct? In general, they lie to cover their tracks, and in doing so they frequently show contempt for the public whose interest they are sworn to protect. Unless and until the results from the investigations into police wrongdoing establish the seriousness of breaching established policies and procedures, and appropriate sanctions are imposed, we will continue to have eruptions over controversial killings.Jamaicans have yet to become as litigious as Americans, but in a world of instantaneous global communications, the practice is fast catching on. We suspect the Government would frown at the prospect of frequent lawsuits claiming millions in damages from the state because of the actions of its security agents. This assumes, of course, that there will be more questionable and controversial shooting incidents involving the police.The real solution is in a more professional approach to all aspects of policing that does not rely on the use of the gun as a first step in dealing with trouble or even criminal suspects. This calls for a different culture and it will take time to build this.
Police cover ups are frequent in many jurisdictions, including even in the United Kingdom cited Mr. Hamilton as an example worthy of emulation.Subsequent reports into the killing of the Brazilian worker initially targeted as a terrorist suspect after the recent London bombings, suggest that despite admitting to a wrongful killing, the police attempted to cover their tracks to protect themselves.
More information is now coming out because of the systems in place to probe the police actions and claims. Therein lies part of the solution to our problems. We need a better system of accountability and a properly staffed, independent body to investigate questionable police shootings.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
