Please, no more excuses
Published:Wednesday | March 17, 2010 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I READ with a great degree of disappointment the response of Inspector Simmonds, attached to the Ocho Rios police, to your reporter, published on the front page of The Gleaner on March 10.
The inspector appears to be implying that the problem encountered by the police to properly address the situation is due to insufficient personnel and also the difficulty of students to obtain transport to and from the Retreat Primary School, because of deplorable road conditions in the area.
Excuses will not absolve the police from their responsibility to the public for the protection of life and property and to maintain law and order. The inspector should not expect a battalion of personnel to be posted to capture the handful of thugs who are hell bent on carrying out their daily criminal activities against law-abiding citizens, especially schoolchildren.
The inspector's local knowledge ought to lead him to those who have no lawful business at the centre, but are frequenting the transport centre for the purpose of carrying out illegal activities.
If this problem is beyond the inspector's ability and capability to address, then the commissioner of police should have him replaced with someone who can address this serious situation, and not wait until two more are stabbed at the transport centre. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. Members of the public in Ocho Rios are expecting more from their law-enforcement agents and are demanding action now with no more excuses.
I am etc,
Andrew McCreath