Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Corporal Hartley Stewart, the general secretary of the Jamaica Police Federation, yesterday took Prime Minister Bruce Golding to task for agreeing with human rights lobbyists that the Jamaican police have engaged in extrajudicial killings.

The prime minister made the comments during a recent interview on the BBC programme 'HARDtalk'.

Addressing the federation's 65th annual conference at the Starfish Resort in Trelawny yesterday, Stewart rejected the prime minister's assertion.

"How come the prime minister could declare to the entire world that the police in Jamaica are practising extrajudicial killing when he cannot find a single example, one conviction, one proper report anywhere that is substantiated by independent authority?" asked Stewart.

Defend the Jamaican police

According to him, human rights lobbyists are championing their cause and somebody needs to defend the Jamaican police.

He said in a report in which a group of human rights lobbyists criticised the police, the security personnel were also labelled as "murderers".

"We were labelled as murderers with further reports suggesting that we have killed 700 persons in the last several years," Stewart said.

He questioned whether the Golding administration realised that good governance depended on the support of the rank and file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

"Do you think you can govern a society that does not have law and order?" asked Stewart. "Do you think you can have law and order without the participation of the police?"

Stewart said if the integrity of the police was trampled and their sacrifices disregarded, it could strain the relationship between the Government and the JCF.

"You cannot expect to trample on the integrity of the police officers who are serving you," said Stewart. "You cannot expect to trample on the sacrifices made over the years."

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com