This week when Assistant Commissioner Les Green said that a number of the policemen killed 'in the line of duty' were involved in acts of criminality, it set off a firestorm of controversy that in my opinion was not unjustified.

I am not totally convinced that in real terms most of the policemen killed were involved with criminals, but Les Green doesn't strike me as someone who speaks loosely on these issues. What I have a bigger issue with is Sergeant Raymond Wilson, chairman of the Jamaica Police Federation, calling for Green's resignation if he is unable to support his statements with fact.

The way I see it, if anyone was speaking loosely on the issue it would have to be the Police Federation chairman, especially in light of what was reported shortly thereafter that a fair amount of marijuana was found in the dead policeman's car, along with drugs and some bail documents that were not supposed to be in his possession. I don't hear Sgt Wilson running his mouth about that now. He wanted proof and he got it. So what now, Sgt Wilson?

We have to understand, however, that Sgt Wilson was only trying to do his job and defend the people who voted to put him in the chairman's seat, but now is not the time for posturing. Corruption is rife across Jamaica in most if not all Government agencies and the police force is not immune.

the simple things

It starts with the simple things. There is a saying these days that if a traffic police stops you, the first thing you are most likely to hear from that cop is "Are you going lef' or write?", meaning are you going to 'lef' something with him or should he 'write' you a ticket. Then there have been quite a number of cases where policemen have been found with quantities of illegal drugs and accused of taking people's property at gunpoint and so on. There was also a case several years ago in which a woman in Southside tipped off police about where a gun was buried and ended up being buried herself not long after. The information that she thought was confidential turned out not to be so confidential after all. So far this year, if my memory serves me, more than 300 policemen have been brought up on breaches. Three hundred, that's a huge chunk of a force that is barely 10,000.

With all of the evidence, one would have thought that Sgt Wilson would have come out and acknowledged that there is a problem within the force and ask the ACP to provide solutions and offer the support and cooperation of his base of supporters.

Nobody likes to hear the truth but hiding from it does not make it go away. And while people will make the case about how we should expect the families of the policemen killed to feel about them being accused of criminality, with all due respect it is no different than those feelings of hurt felt by the families of all the innocent people murdered in this country by criminals. So they need to spare me the sentiment.

at war

We are at war with the criminal element. A war, by the way, that the innocents are losing. If there are policemen within the force that are corrupt they need to be hunted and prosecuted because as agents of the state sworn to protect the people, lawmen consorting with criminals are traitors and there are few greater sins than treachery.

Denying that there is a large number of corrupt cops out there is not only supporting the treachery but refusing to accept a reality that is staring us squarely in the face.

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