Improve Police Response Time

-

In the aftermath of last week’s tragic incident in St. Elizabeth in which a teenager was allegedly

killed by her child’s father the time has come for the police high command to establish minimum

guidelines for response time for our law enforcement officers. While this occurs in other

jurisdictions Jamaica is once again lagging behind where this is concerned. This guideline should be

for all police stations across the island regardless of location.
I am very much aware that staffing the police force is extremely challenging, more so in this period of recession and financial constraints, however, it is very clear that we must find additional resources to adequately equip our police officers in order for them to do their job. It is only after this has been done that we can hold them fully accountable for not responding promptly. Minimum response time should become a part of standard operational procedures in the future and should be a part of the curriculum at the police training college. It cannot be business as per usual!
Whether someone had just broke into hour home, or whether someone has threatened you or your family the first instinct is to call the police for help. It cannot be that in your time of need as a law abiding citizen the police is not in a position to assist because their vehicle is being used to transport prisoners.
Too often we hear of reports of individuals requesting assistance from the police only to be told that no vehicles are available or worse yet no petrol is available for the vehicle.  This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated anymore!
Who knows maybe the outcome in St. Elizabeth could have been different had the Nain police responded to the call from the deceased grandmother for help. According the grandmother she called both the Nain and Alligator Pond Police Stations repeatedly for assistance. Obviously too much time was allowed to pass before the police finally arrived on the scene. This crime was probably preventable.
The principle of community policing will not be served if our police officers are not viewed favourably by the community in which serve. Effective policing is not only about increasing the number of police men and men in the force; it is also about facilitating them to effectively respond to the needs of the citizenry in a timely and professional manner. It is commendable that the commissioner of police has launched an investigation into the matter. Let us use this most regrettable experience to put some corrective measures in place so as not to have a repeat of this most unfortunate incident.
waykam@yahoo.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insecticides, Air Travel And Safety

-
Image
We are not insects, we are human beings. To travel by air is a privilege. Air travel is a costly adventure as well.   Those of us who have been fortunate to travel oftentimes experience some amount of excitement leading up to that moment. This heightened sense of emotion happens to almost all of us irrespective of whether we are a frequent flyer or a first timer. This buzz never goes away regardless of whether you travel economy or first class. However, for some folks there is a sense of nervousness during travel. There are numerous lessons we can learn whenever we travel. For example, our outlook on life is often altered due to the interaction with other peoples and cultures. Once the airplane takes off and you begin to ascend into the clouds, sometimes of altitude unbelievable to those without this experience, one can feel like someone who is imprisoned until your flight lands and you disembark. It is usually at those altitudes that the airline crew informs you that they are goin...
Read more

Vessels of Honour: Celestial Treasures

-
Image
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”- Psalm 51:10. Many of us have a skewed understanding of God our creator. In many instances we believe or are led to believe that in order to be used by God we must be pure and sinless. This tainted view undoubtedly also impacts our relationships we have with God. Having such a distorted view of God and what God demands from us oftentimes lead us into disobedience. The same is true concerning the weight of condemnation. It is for this reason why it is critical for us to spend time in the Word of God which is the Bible. We all need to know God for ourselves. We often make excuses to study the Bible, yet, we will spend hours on social media or hours gossiping people’s business. Nowhere is gossiping more pronounced than in the church. The church as we know it is not a place of honesty. Why do I say this? Oftentimes we turn to the church in our moments of weakness and vulnerability yet, the solace and compassion that ...
Read more

Interrogating Black Fatherhood

-
Image
“What I've realized is that life doesn't count for much unless you're willing to do your small part to leave our children all of our children a better world. Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”- Barack Obama. Fatherhood, especially black fatherhood oftentimes is not as celebrated as it should. As a result we continue to hear of the arguments surrounding my mother who fathered me. There are specific roles concerning the sexes and frankly speaking mothers cannot father children, likewise fathers cannot mother children. Indeed as a society we need to move the discussion away from these examples of oxymoron. This flawed premise has been around so long and unfortunately has become normalized in many societies. However, the time has come for us to have a serious and honest discussion as this argument must be interrogated and replaced with a sense of responsibility. In fact, there is one m...
Read more