Orville Taylor | Judge-maker land we love

If one has ever spent quality time with homicide investigators or frontline police officers, pursuing criminal elements on operations, it would be easy to understand their discomfort, when well-thinking, enraged and outraged members of the political hierarchy make statements about the level of response when heinous crimes are committed.

There is some consolation to the relatives of the nine people killed in the Clarendon massacre. After all, based on the reports, the suspected perpetrator attempted to take on the well-trained men and women of the Constabulary and of course, met his demise.

However, this is the consistent reaction of the Constabulary when criminal elements raise their heads and take on the agents of social control.

Yes, we are horrified and angry and our prime minister and every other Jamaican, who loves this little country, must be angry as a puss dipped in cold water.

Fact is fact! With or without the prime minister warning, “face judge or maker”, that is the path for those who decide to run amok and terrorise the innocent.

Nothing is wrong with the statement. Common law, statute and the UN and Jamaican use of deadly force policies all present that dichotomy: because escaping justice is not an option.

Yet, whenever the promise is given that there is going to be decisive action taken and all of the resources allocated to bring the perpetrators to justice; it is easily misinterpreted.

And for that reason, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) are up in arms with our political leaders, because, it could sound as if there is some intention to carry out reprisals using the state resources.

RULE OF LAW

In a democracy run by the rule of law, there is no space for such a message, and I do not believe that this is what the prime minister intends to tell the people.

Doubtless, the message must be sent to current and prospective criminals, that you will not get away, because the ‘Houses of Babylon are going to pursue you, and you will be caught and brought to justice, assuming of course that you do not attempt to engage the security forces with your lesser-trained self and crew.

Assertive and strong leaders are important in this war on crime. Clear and unambiguous messages must be sent. Criminals are listening, including those brave or silly enough to send threats or disrespectful boasts against the leaders.

For the record, inasmuch as I defend the right of freedom of speech, to criticise our prime minister and any elected or selected official; there are lines which must never be crossed.

This is Jamaica, where, unlike the US and other democracies, we have never assassinated an elected political leader, and we aim to keep it so. Moreover, under our relevant statutes, a threat to assassinate the head of government could qualify as treason, in my humble non-lawyer opinion.

Still, an unfortunate risk when politicians or even the police high command speak assertively, is that the ‘leave no stone unturned’ and ‘putting out maximum effort’, can be misinterpreted as suggesting that in other murders, and similar situations, the police effort is not as dedicated.

True, there are some suspects, who require more resources because of their ‘special’ abilities. However, the statements could easily play into the narrative that police only jump when the prick comes from the powerful.

Farther from the truth, real policing is carried out by the rank and file, who by and large, are simply police officers, who just work, without favour or ill will.

Of course, there are minority elements, who might have macabre allegiances to the camps of green and orange, thus, potentially bringing the Force into disrepute. However, generally, with or without the imperatives from the high command, which typically is closer to the political directorate, the cops will work independently.

Beyond the angry responses from government, the ‘fire for fire’ message can easily be misunderstood. Not missing a beat, JFJ, has responded, cautioning the government.

This does not make them “criminal sympathisers”, and selected officials in particular, must be careful about the messages they transmit to those who elect our representatives and more importantly, our external partners.

LEGAL PARAMETERS

As atrocious as the conduct of the criminals is; law enforcement is precisely that: enforcers of the law, and therefore must act within the legal parameters of the system.

On the surface, JFJ and the police should have no major disagreement. Similarly, our Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), in principle, cannot want more than to simply have the security forces act lawfully.

Therefore, as my colleague Herbert Gayle observed, “You can’t tell any of these groups that make up civil society or the base of the central political authority that they must not operate, because, in their absence, who is going to protect you?”

Further, perception is not always reality. Consistent with data presented seven years ago, recent statistics from the Constabulary, and analysed by Paul Bourne, do not support the popular stereotype of wanton ‘extra judicial’ police killings.

Using the US as the golden standard, for the first decade of INDECOM, both American and Jamaican police killed 17 civilians for every cop murdered by criminals.

When one adjusts the data to account for the differential national homicide rates, the recovery of firearms, the nature of operations and the fact that Jamaican cops are more often killed when not engaging criminals directly, the numbers tell a different story.

Simply put, in a murderous country where criminals are not afraid to kill police officers at any time, and the police homicide rate is many times that of the natural average, it is logical that police have to use deadly force more often.

Therefore, there is nothing unusual about numbers of police killings in a killing society, except that occasionally, talkers with loose lips and minds fail to make the distinction between those which appear justified and those which require deeper action by INDECOM.

Crime and violence require consensus, rather than emotional knee jerking.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com