Do not waste video evidence
Published:Saturday | March 16, 2013 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
At the end of July 2010, the night before I boarded an aircraft to travel to the United Kingdom, I saw TV footage of a man lying on the ground and being shot by the police, the report said.
That picture stayed with me on that journey, and when I arrived, the first question my nephew asked was, "What the hell is going on down there?" I trotted out the much overused phrase 'This is Jamaica', but at least there is video evidence. Silly me!
In true laid-back or lazy Jamaican style, the case came to court more than two and a half years later, March 2013. The verdict shocked many Jamaicans, including me.
I heard the director of public prosecutions on a radio programme today explaining that, unless one is prepared to go to court, it would be a waste of time taking pictures of a crime in progress. Now do you see why one foreign policeman said we are backward?
CCTV EVIDENCE
When I came off that plane, I had to run the gauntlet of cameras and drive the 150 miles to my final destination in full view of hundreds of remotely unmanned cameras that take pictures, record speed and generate a court summons that is delivered through the mail if the driver exceeds the speed limit, among other motoring violations. Hundreds of people in that country are convicted every year on the evidence of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that are installed everywhere.
I have often heard various commentators and was of the view myself that CCTV would help in our spiralling crime rate. Now I am not so sure.
Parliament moved with express speed to change the law so that the Government could use National Housing Trust cash when it suits them. Parliament was dragged kicking and screaming to bring legislation that will help with the prosecution of lottery scammers.
I say to Parliament, we don't have remote CCTV cameras and are not likely to get the number we need by 2030, but we have thousands of camera phones out there ready to help with crime detection.
There are experts who can tell if pictures have been 'doctored'. Pull your fingers out and get on with it. I don't buy the 'This is Jamaica' nonsense.
PHIL FOSTER
Southfield, St Elizabeth