The Editor, Sir:

This is an open letter to the new Commissioner of Police. Heartiest congratulations, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, on being named Commissioner of Police. I am sure the people of Jamaica welcome you and are saying a prayer for you as you assume the most dangerous and high-profile post in the country.

Commissioner, as you take office, I am humbly suggesting that you look at the lack of enforcement of basic laws in our constitution that speak to discipline and the good order of society.

We inherited a British system of laws. On the statute books are laws that most people under 30 years old have never heard about. I am suggesting that you blow off the dust from these basic laws, review them and insist that they be enforced.

There are laws relating to loitering, indecent utterances, aiding and abetting crime, indecent exposure - which I saw two policemen violating by urinating on the side of the road. There are road traffic laws requiring the prope of motor vehicles and functioning head and park lights. The laws speak to double parking, overtaking at intersections and pedestrian crossings, speeding in school zones, and so on.

Commissioner, we need to begin now to educate the public about the existence of these laws and begin strict enforcement of them. We have, over the years, tended to ignore infringement of these laws, which might seem minor, but it is my view that it is ignoring what may seem like small things that has caused a complete breakdown of law and order in our society.

Graduates from the police training school should once again be deployed at busiest intersections in the Corporate Area to prevent minor infractions by motorists and promote smooth flow of traffic.

There should be small motorcycle patrols in shopping malls and roadways. If you consider instituting even one area of my wish list, the nation would benefit.

I am, etc.,

A. GUY MORRIS

Duncans