Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin has demonstrated, to date, the kind of big-picture thinking which the administration of the Jamaica Constabulary Force needs to become a more efficient crime-fighting agency. His push to implement administrative changes, even if egos are bruised and sacred cows dismantled, is a welcome breath of fresh air in public administration. Among his welcome proposals are the closure of undermanned and underutilised police stations close to each other and the amalgamation of several units whose functions and responsibilities overlap.
We have already noted and reiterated, as we did yesterday, our support of his call for the equipping of the constabulary with non-lethal weapons for use in crowd control. This is necessary to rebuild trust in the constabulary if the police are to gain the upper hand against crime in the country. Part of that effort must include a reduction in the number of killings by the police.
We do not believe, however, that the availability of non-lethal weapons is the only, or even the primary, answer, to what many people consider to be the overuse of deadly force by the police. Which, of course, we do not claim was the main point being made by Commissioner Lewin. But, as the police boss will undoubtedly also argue, training, discipline and management are issues to be confronted when addressing this issue.It seems to us that the drawing and use of firearms by the police, even in circumstances where it poses danger to innocent persons, is the result of reflex rather than thoughtful behaviour. On the face of it, it seems that in circumstances of confrontation the training, which we assume police officers receive, evaporates and discipline falls apart. And it appears that weak management by senior officers who may be at the scene of such confrontations contribute to this breakdown. Or, perhaps, they, too, did not not have the requisite skill or discipline to direct otherwise.
The bottom line, therefore, is that even as Admiral Lewin insists on being equipped with non-lethal weapons - which he must - he should also move to improve training and discipline in the constabulary. Often, issues can be defused by skillful interventions, before there is need to resort to guns and deadly force.
Why, for instance, if alleged criminals are holed-up in a building surrounded by police officers, it has to end with the gunmen being killed? Might not other options be employed, including the use of specialist units or skilled negotiators?
We suspect that these and similar matters are on Admiral Lewin's agenda, and will be the issues that will be on the plate of his proposed inspector general, whose terms of reference we eagerly await.
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