We naturally welcome the downturn in the murder rate, as reported in yesterday's Gleaner. The decrease by eight per cent for January 2008, when compared to the same month last year, is relatively minuscule as a proportion of the total figure.

And it certainly does not engender a sense of security strong enough for us to overlook the daily reports of mayhem, which continues to occur in totally unexpected places, such as Industry Village in Gordon Town, St Andrew, which had a quadruple murder recently.

But while we will not hop, skip and shout about modest gains which can be all too easily reversed, we must acknowledge the positives. We also hope that the roots of the decline be examined and, if they are within the scope of police work, nurtured for greater and sustained progress.

It is against this background, that of the police building on the success which has been realised, that we suggest one of the best ways to continue the positive trend is for the lawmen to continue fighting corruption in their ranks. The most recent, prominent result of the effort, which we applaud wholeheartedly, made the front page this week under the headline 'Sarge at large'. The somewhat humorous, though still serious tale underscores the brazenness of the corrupt cop, as it was within the vicinity of a major police station where the sting operation to catch a policeman who demanded a bribe took place.

It is obvious that building public confidence in the police force will only be aided by the public prosecution of those within their ranks who would persecute the public. What we hope, though, is that this confidence can reach a level where the public will feel comfortable in the confidentiality of the lawmen on the ground, those involved in operations who effectively can cause a death through loose tongues or deliberate dissemination of sensitive information.

After all, in a culture where the 'informer' is so often berated and could be classified as being at risk, the person who would point the police in the right direction to keep that welcome downward murder trend going needs the sense of security which comes from absolute secrecy.

So the near concurrent downward murder trend and the frantic flight of that hapless police sergeant go hand in hand. Added to that is the recent Gleaner series on the car-stealing ring, involving lawmen, which led to the disappearance of two men.

For it is only through sustained cooperation between the public and honest lawmen that eight per cent will grow into a figure that would allow us to go into paroxysms of delight.

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