I read an article titled 'Police vow to stem crime' in The Sunday Gleaner in which Superintendent Maurice Robinson, commanding officer for St James, said that the police had measures in place to address the concerns of persons, who felt that their safety could be compromised if they were to give information to the police.

To quote the superintendent: "There are secure lines on which people can report criminal activities without any chance of being exposed."

Paradoxical behaviour

Even in the best of times, there are persons who are sceptical enough to believe otherwise but, in the light of an article which appeared in The Gleaner on Saturday, how on earth could the Superintendent make such a claim?

For those of us who did not see the article, in that same division which the superintendent commands, a man is before the courts for impersonating a police inspector for six months.

According to The Gleaner, "he reportedly carried an M16, a legitimate police badge, ID and denim uniform, while patrolling the streets of Montego Bay for six months, before members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) realised he was not one of their own."

Now, mind you, this man was not posing as a constable, so in the normal scheme of things one would feel relatively safe to tell him, as a senior officer, about criminal activities.

Where on earth would that have left them, since we do not even know what his intentions were?

Surely, he was not getting paid by the state, so we can assume anything by his assumption of such a role.

The reporter was good enough to point out the irony of the situation, noting that the fake inspector was operating out of the very same office where a legitimate police corporal was allegedly beaten to death by a constable on November 15, 2005, because he was mistaken for an imposter.

I am, etc.,

George Watson

watteverg@hotmail.com