Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, commissioner of police, addresses the audience at the Jamaica Employers' Federation CEO breakfast function at the Hilton Kingston hotel yesterday. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin says members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) should not be daunted or agitated by the decision to replace the M16 with the less powerful MP5 rifle during regular duties.

"No policeman is going to be asked to go out there and put their life in danger," he said.

Lewin was reacting to what he said could be an interpretation from the announcement as presented to the public yesterday, that police personnel would be placed at a disadvantage to criminal forces.

Lewin said yesterday he was instead encouraging the police to adopt a more intellectual approach to bringing down criminal elements.

The police chief was speaking at a Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) CEO breakfast, held at the Hilton Kingston hotel.

On Monday, Lewin announced that, after more than 25 years, the popular M16 rifle would be pulled from most police personnel on the front line and replaced with the smaller-calibre MP5 semi-automatic rifle.

Only members of the Mobile Reserve - the special squad formed to deal with civil unrest and/or national emergencies - would be allowed to continue using M16 rifles.

The announcement came not only against the backdrop of the commissioner's attempts to transform the JCF, but also in light of several controversial shootings involving civilians and members of the police force.

Just last Thursday, an 11-month-old boy was shot dead, allegedly by a bullet fired by a member of the Island Special Constabulary Force on March Pen Road in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

However, while the decision has been welcomed by the Jamaica Police Federation, which agreed that the benefits of using the less-powerful MP5 far outweighed the disadvantages, the commissioner accepted that there were persons who believed it would make the job of the JCF more difficult. He said this was because those persons believed the criminals already far outgunned the police.

Brain best weapon

Lewin said that while in the line of duty, a policeman's best weapon is his brain and he must use it.

Lewin added that for many Jamaicans, there seemed to be a widespread obsession with the gun and this has forced them to stop thinking sensibly when it comes to their actions.

"Whether it's a civilian with a licensed firearm or whatever, but you give a man a gun and his brain stops functioning because he now has that power," he said. "So, in other circumstances, where he might have spent an extra 10 seconds to think through his actions, he will now rush blindly because he has a gun."

Lewin said it was critical for the police to adopt a more intellectual and sophisticated way to tackling crime and violence as the criminal networks are also much smarter.