LETTER OF THE DAY - Public-relations disaster
Published:Tuesday | July 12, 2011 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
It is my humble opinion that the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) handling of the investigation into the unfortunate and untimely death of Khajeel Mais has been an unmitigated public-relations disaster.
The majority of my fellow Jamaicans have always held the belief that there are two sets of laws operating in Jamaica: one governing the conduct of the rich and powerful, and another for the poor and powerless. This belief, real or imagined, has been reinforced by the JCF in the handling of the investigation in this case.
Commencing in May 2010, following the Tivoli Gardens incursion, the JCF has routinely provided to the media, and, by extension, the general public, the names of so-called 'persons of interest'. These are individuals who are suspects in, or are aware of criminal activities, or simply persons who the police want to interview. These individuals are instructed by the police to report on or before a specific date and a specific time to the nearest police station. I am not aware that this procedure has been discontinued.
Glaring facts
In the case of the suspect in the Mais case, he has not been named as a so-called 'person of interest', despite the fact that the police have raided his home, questioned his family, seized the motor vehicle - a BMW X6, which was alleged to have been driven at the time of the shooting - and provided information that the subject fled to the United States the day following the shooting.
In addition, the home of a superintendent of police, who is alleged to have communicated with the suspect following the shooting, was raided and he is being investigated. Was this not enough information to name this individual a 'person of interest'?
We have now learned that the suspect is not only extremely wealthy - we already suspected that he was - and that he is connected to both political parties and senior members of the JCF. The general public has been left to speculate, and their belief that the rich and powerful in this country are above the law is now reinforced.
Golden opportunity missed
The JCF has squandered a golden opportunity to show the Jamaican people that the law applies equally to all. In addition, it has failed to garner the public's support in locating this suspect. The general public is now claiming cover-up and incompetence, and worse, corruption on the part of at least one member of the JCF.
This case has so captured the interest of the public that the JCF should have had frequent news conferences to inform the public of the progress of the investigation. This is the case which gives the JCF the opportunity to showcase its investigative skills, to ask the public's help in solving crime, to show the public that no one is above the law, to give the public confidence that it is serious about solving crime.
The suspect in this heinous crime should have been named and his photograph circulated. He should have been asked to report to the nearest police station. After all, if he had no consciousness of guilt, he would not have fled the island and would have reported to the police if he was innocent.
In the final analysis, we must ask: Why do we use taxpayers' hard-earned money to pay for a spokesperson for the JCF when he has not spoken a single word on this high-profile case?
PERCIVAL A. CLARKE
Montego Bay, St James