‘GUN SALUTES NOT ENOUGH’

Members of the security forces operating in the Corporate Area are peeved at the recent declaration of states of emergency (SOE), lamenting the distress among officers who are being asked to make do with insufficient resources.

Kingston Western was one of seven police divisions across the island blanketed by SOEs on Sunday in response to worrying crime figures.

Speaking with The Gleaner this week, the officers manning checkpoints across the Corporate Area said that their concerns were not being adequately addressed.

“Not even the uniform that we wearing out here is not dem provide it. We have to buy it,” one officer told our news team at one of the checkpoints. “Whole heap of things are of concern.”

Another officer pointed to a chair without a backrest that was among three given to the team of six, adding that it was inadequate and far from ideal.

Some of the cops have been assigned to 12- to 14-hour shifts, while the soldiers on duty reportedly rotate every six hours.

“No shops nearby, two hot bottle of water for the whole day. It’s a whole lot, no bathroom and as you can see when the sun reach over there, it a go pose a very big problem”, another officer said.

The checkpoint along Industrial Terrace sits on the banks of a nearby gully, which the policemen say is not safe as there is a history of criminal movements.

“There has been a stench from this morning. Every minute it rise up. We have to bear it. It’s not a comfortable situation. Is not the higher rank dem a dweet (work at the location), so dem nuh care. We get instructions and have to carry it out,” said one officer.

The Gleaner noticed a bathroom along the North Street corridor, which was yet to be relocated although the checkpoint at the corner of North and Last streets had been moved.

A checkpoint at Charles Street, located behind the Kingston Public Hospital, was also without a bathroom.

The cops also complained of a lack of personal space to eat and privacy to relieve themselves.

“We would have to call and wait for them to come. The tent very small [and] it is five of us. If rain should fall, we wet up,” one officer complained, noting that their superiors are not in the dark as to the poor conditions under which they work. “They pass every day and they see us, so they are more than aware.”

The police officer told The Gleaner that in some cases, they are left to man both the zone of special operations in the division as well as the SOE.

Noting the strain that he and several other officers were under, one police constable told The Gleaner that instead of a pay cheque, he was receiving a “bills cheque”, as mortgage and car loan obligations swallow up more than $80,000 of his monthly earnings.

Promised special allowances for work done along with healthcare workers during the pandemic have also not been forthcoming.

He also shared the uniform concern expressed by his colleague.

The constable said that despite having to do frequent foot patrols in some volatile communities, some of which require standing or walking for 12 hours, the Jamaica Constabulary Force has not provided officers with the special uniforms required for such duties, telling them that none were in stores, leaving him to source them elsewhere.

“I have had to purchase my shoes – the last issue was four years ago – for $15,000 and my uniform for $14,000 per suit,” he said, noting that he bought four sets to avoid having to wear the same uniform daily.

“The shifts I work do not allow for eating on time or even to get a balanced meal based on what is available to us during this work period, and these are just the tip of the iceberg,” added the cop.

He said that the Government was being foolhardy in “sending financially depressed or undercompensated officers into communities to fight against crime” without adequate resources.

The officer called on the Government to pay cops a liveable wage and to settle the dispute currently in the courts over unpaid overtime. Subsidised services, including low-interest vehicle and cash loans as well as petrol advances, could also motivate cops, said the father of two.

“Find ways to show us that our service is valued and appreciated,” he said. “Gun salutes and condolences to our families are not enough. Help us to be better able to care for them while we serve.”

Jamaica Police Federation Chairman Corporal Rohan James has also been critical of the current SOEs, saying that despite grand announcements, the State has not provided the logistical support and resources to allow members of the security forces to effectively execute their duties.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com