Retired SSP willing to make crime-fighting return

WESTERN BUREAU:

Disappointed by how criminals have been creating mayhem across the island, John Morris, a retired senior superintendent of police (SSP), has indicated his desire to return to the streets to help tackle crime and violence by helping to curb attitudes.

Morris, who ended his active and colourful career as a tough crime-fighter in the Area One Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), says the time has come for himself and his fellow retired colleagues who once served to give of their time and expertise in helping to fix the country’s crime dilemma.

“Jamaica needs us to work as a team. We have to get our best results [resources] out there to get Jamaica out of our dilemma,” Morris said.

“Our attitude towards one another is so important, and our association, led by Horace Dailey, we are going to assist this country in changing our attitude ... . We are determined to get our members to go back out there; we have the knowledge of how to get along with people,” he stated.

“And we need to assist this country to get back on its feet, and I am going to be pushing for it, that we as retired people must make some effort to go back out there and assist,” Morris, the retired SSP, insisted on saying.

Speaking at the Association of Past Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s recently held luncheon at the Negril Hills Golf Club, Morris said the issues of crime and violence require all of us to be working as a team to yield the desired environment we hope for.

“As team members, we need to understand our environment. I am encouraging all members of our association and persons attending this function that Jamaica needs us now,” Morris added.

CELEBRATE RETIREMENT

Lieutenant Colonel Rev Canon Hartley Perrin, custos of Westmoreland, who was the guest speaker at the luncheon, told the retired police officers that they should seek to celebrate their retirement on the basis that they have experienced several near-death encounters but survived.

“Recognising the many obstacles that you have had to face, and the many near-death experiences that you encounter, today has to be a day of rejoicing that you lived out of the uniform to just sit back and relax,” Perrin stated.

“You knew that, every time you put that uniform on and went out, there was no guarantee that you were going to return alive,” the clergyman reasoned.

Perrin placed on record the appreciation of the law-abiding citizens with whom the nation’s police officers worked, saying that, as a country, they owe a tremendous sense of gratitude for their services rendered.

He noted that the retired men and women of the JCF have laid a solid foundation on which they have provided protection and reassured the citizens in their times of crisis and need.

“People knew you by name and were willing to accommodate you in their homes, and you commanded respect,” Perrin stated, noting that their point 38 revolver with six rounds gave them an edge in certain circumstances.

He said these retired police officers who have given well over 20 years of service each were peace officers who enjoyed the luxury of having a drink or two in the community bar or playing dominoes without fear or prejudice.

“It was in these moments, however, that intelligence was garnered and many criminal interests fought. Your presence alone served as a deterrent to criminals and wrongdoers,” he explained.

“Oh, how things have changed for the worse in this regard. You never had the benefit of drones, cellular phones, and all the other high-tech things that are now a part of police work, and you hardly even wore a bulletproof vest,” said Perrin.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com