The Editor, Sir:

During my recent visit to Jamaica, I was stopped on the highway by Jamaican police who extorted money from me, under the guise of a "speed trap". It occurred during midday on the main highway between Montego Bay and Negril, on Sunday, February 25.

I was told that I was speeding, which I was not, and that the ticket would cost me J$5000, but that paying J$2000 to the officer would make the problem disappear. He said this in the presence of several other police officers, so clearly all of those present were in on the scam.

Because the police had guns, I was afraid to take close note of identities and primarily wanted to pay the extortion and escape. The Hertz car rental agent in MoBay later told me that this scam was now common in Jamaica. Such speed traps appear to be set up along stretches of road that are signed with unusually slow speeds (50 km/h).

If the police cannot be trusted, who should you turn to for help? Police corruption is one of the worst things that can happen to a society. Essentially the police become the robbers - the people you want to avoid. But unfortunately, these robbers are well armed and will shoot if you try to run from them (so I am told).

Country with crooks

So now you have a country with crooks (the police) that are armed and operate in broad daylight. That may be an overstatement, as there are many honest police, I am sure, but it takes only a few rotten ones to ruin it for everyone, residents and tourists alike.

I would hope that the head of Jamaica's police force realises the scope and significance of this problem and can take appropriate action to find and punish corrupt policemen.

I am, etc.,

Dr. BLAIR HEDGES

sbh1@psu.edu

102 Hillcrest Avenue

State College

Pennsylvania, USA

Via Go-Jamaica