Building trust in the police force

By Garth A. Rattray

It is imperative that citizens trust the police if we are to effectively fight crime. The constabulary is already engaged in tackling 42 (organised and recognised) criminal gangs, innumerable and varied spontaneous crimes, violent confrontations, securing jails, judiciary duties, every conceivable type of fraud, domestic disputes, runaways, lost children and adults and traffic violations.

The police force is also responsible for transporting government officials, transporting the injured, protection for officials, celebrities and regular citizens, quelling specific and generalised social unrest, ensuring free passage, protecting our shores, protecting our cyberspace, education, reassurance and participating in ceremonial events.

It is indeed sad that the organisation is also constantly embroiled in combating internal problems with ethics and integrity.

No police force or service anywhere in the world is squeaky clean. There are always unscrupulous and dishonest individuals in every single organisation. However, I dare say that, generally, Jamaicans worry that too many of our police are not as honest as they should be.

I know of women drivers who have been propositioned by traffic cops and, when their advances were rebuffed, some were stalked and a few threatened with violence. One businesswoman, who politely declined a request for a date from a cop, was threatened to be shot in the head (because he deduced that she does not like the police). Fear kept her and others from reporting the police to the (other) police.

Base for nefarious activities

In spite of the best efforts of the police hierarchy - set out in the Jamaica Constabulary Force Ethics and Integrity Policy, April 2011 - some police personnel continue to use their job as a base for nefarious activities. Some are willing to 'lose' documents related to criminal cases or stay away from court for a price. Some traffic cops still engage in extortion and solicitation of money or even food, in lieu of cash, whenever they pull over motorists for routine spot checks or for speeding.

In 2004, I experienced the unsavoury underbelly of the constabulary when a plainclothes inspector of police failed to stop at a two-way stop sign in a car with an expired road licence. The impact almost flipped my vehicle and put it out of service for five months. He lied about the crash and had his complicit cohorts falsify documents (including a purported statement from me), yet, although the Govern-ment eventually accepted liability and in spite of my very best efforts and a cooperating system, he was never charged for anything but was instead promoted and retired with full benefits and honours.

That experience taught me that the constabulary is a duelling duality of good and bad. And, I also realised that no matter how hard the decent/honest cops, the supervisors, monitors and leaders within the force try to ensure honesty and integrity, there will always be a dark side of the force operating selfishly and surreptitiously, insidiously eroding the public trust to the detriment of every single one of us.

Most vulnerable

The most vulnerable period for neophyte cops is just after training school. It is a span of time and experience that can forever mould their psyche and habits. The force is aware of this, but exigencies of duty and paucity of staff have not adequately allowed special attention and effort to ensure proper supervision and the continuance of the positive learning process.

In spite of the internal cacophony of plaintive undertones, the constabulary must persist in the effort to prosecute and discipline errant behaviour. Aside from Minister of National Security Peter Bunting's police-as-'partners-with-the-community' strategy, only a no-nonsense, zero-tolerance policy can subjugate the dissident, corrupt minority that besmirch the good name of most cops, impugn the reputation of the entire force and compromise the security of their colleagues and civilians alike.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.