Given Jamaica's crime situation and the abundance of high-powered weapons in the hands of criminals, do you think it was a wise move on the part of the police commissioner to take away M-16 rifles from some front-line police personnel?

Mark Davidson - fireman:

Yes, I think that's a wise decision because they are dealing with people and it's not a war ground they are on. Having a high-powered weapon seems to make a lot of them think they are preparing for battle and forget that they are dealing with civilians. I think that they do need to protect themselves, but not with these high-powered guns.

Herman Stewart - street sweeper:

I don't think that's right because the bad men out there have even bigger weapons than the police and maybe they can defeat the police.

Victor Williams:

Yeah! The police are behaving too bad. A whole lot of young men are being shot and nothing has been done about these police shootings. You only hear that investigations are being done and then you hear nothing else. It's just brushed under the carpet.

Stevon Davis - fifth-form student:

Yes, sir! Because a lot of time they point the weapons at us in my community when they are doing patrols and that makes me feel intimidated and I feel afraid to walk by them. I don't have a problem with the handguns, but the high-powered weapons should be restricted.