In this November 1980 file photo, National Security Minister Winston Spaulding (third right) oversees the clearing of a road block on Gold Street in central Kingston in the aftermath of the bloody 1980 general election campaign. A policeman (left) carries the recently introduced M16 rifle.

Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

WINSTON SPAULDING, the man under whose watch as minister of national security the M16 assault rifle was introduced to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), says the importation of the military weapon was necessary as the police were fighting men with much greater firepower.

"Jamaica, at the time, was going through a thinly veiled civil war," Spaulding, an attorney-at-law, tells The Sunday Gleaner. "When we took office, there was a hangover of the madness that had taken place during the (1980) election period where the police were often outshot by criminal gangs and were at a distinct disadvantage because the weapons that they had were inferior to the weapons with which they were attacked," he adds.

Spaulding's comments come in the wake of Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin's announcement last week that the use of the M16 rifle would be restricted to specialised groups within the JCF. The announcement means that regular patrol cops will soon be without this powerful weapon. It will be replaced with the MP5, which uses smaller-calibre bullets.

A PNP decision

Spaulding recounts that the order for the M16 rifles was made by the People's National Party (PNP) administration, which would subsequently lose the bloody 1980 election to the Jamaica Labour party (JLP). The order, according to Spaulding, was suspended by the PNP, but soon after the election, the decision was made to arm the local police with the weapon the US military was using in combat.

Close to 1,000 persons were killed in the prolonged election run-up period. The socialist- focused PNP and the capitalist-driven JLP were engaged in a bitter ideological war, which is said to have spilled over to the streets and got ugly.

"The police had to be armed as a matter of urgency to begin the process of dealing with that threat," Spaulding explains. As a result, M16 assault rifles were imported and many police units, mainly the Special Anti-Crime Task Force, were subsequently outfitted with the lethal weapon.

Over time, the M16 assault rifle was routinely given to police personnel. But there are no data to support any claims of a direct correlation between its use and deadly police shootings.

However, when Commissioner Lewin, last Tuesday, announced the withdrawal of the M16 from popular use by Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) members, human rights advocate Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), was among the first to celebrate. It later released a report, which was prepared for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

According to the JFJ, since 2000, more than 700 civilians have been killed by the police. Last year, 270 persons were allegedly gunned down by the police. An earlier report, documented by Americas Watch, pointed to an average of 217 police killings per year between 1979 and 1986, representing one half of the country's total killings.

The Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights had reported that the police killed 289 persons in 1984. Adverse public opinion resulting from charges of human rights abuses by the police in the 1980s prompted then Prime Minister Edward Seaga to reshuffle his Cabinet in 1986. Spaulding's days as minister of national security and justice were over.

However, 22 years on, his perspective on policing and justice has not changed. He still believes that national-security policies must be determined by the dictates of the day.

Echoing human rights activists, Spaulding has welcomed the move by the commissioner.

"I agree with the commissioner of police that the policy of the allocation of M16 and all other weapons must be reviewed," Spaulding says.

Realities of the day

He adds: "This review is necessary in the context of not only the security needs of the country, but the experiences which have shown clear abuse by some persons of the use of these weapons in a way which just cannot continue and could not be tolerated."

Spaulding maintains that the decision to implement the use of the M16 in the first place was dictated by the realities of the day.

"If you have people using military weapons against the police and the security forces and you do not have commensurate fire power to deal with it, how would they protect the society?" he reasons.

He dismisses suggestions that his decision aided a continuation of the paramilitary-like mode of operation of the JCF. Spaulding says that at the time when he served as national security minister, steps were taken to improve intelligence gathering, create attitudinal change within the force, and endorse community policing through the establishment of the police staff college.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com