The Jamaica Star :: Commentary :: Police caught in the middle

Jackass sey de worl' no level. Jackass sey de police dem ketch up inna de miggle a wan sitiashan whe bigga dan dem, but a dem a pay de bloody price fe hit.

Two more policemen were killed in St Catherine over the weekend on the same day that another murdered lawman was buried. It is not too long after two policemen were killed in Trench Town and the killings make an average of one policeman killed per month.

It is not quite as bad as Tarrus Riley sings in Beware ("police a dead too, one a day/dem shot de sherrif an' a come fe de deputy"), but it is serious indeed.

Of course, the police have been accused of doing their fair share of very questionable killings and, as the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) was formed in the aftermath of the 1865 unrest in Morant Bay, their history indicates that it is geared towards the 'force' in its name.

Bad situation

But the world is not level at all, because the police have been put in a bad situation from day one. They have been placed in a situation where they are the controlling force between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' of the society, in a country where there is almost no social service network to alleviate the pervasive poverty. And, on top of all that, the police and the people they have been established to control come from the same sector of the society.

It is like Bob Marley sang, that "when you're gonna get some food, your brother has to be your enemy".

So, Jackass believes that over the years, the police have been given pretty much a free hand in riding roughshod over the poorest of the society and to a large extent, there were no official repercussions, except for the recent anti-corruption drive.

Conundrum

So, what is a lawman supposed to do when he or she sees this trend? Isn't it better to be very tough and hated, yet feared and relatively safe, than to be 'nice' and dead?

It pains Jackass' heart to see the people in Jamaica at war against one another, whether it is along political, community or 'law' lines. What it comes down to is the poorer in the society shedding blood among themselves while those who 'have it' are all safe.

Not that Jackass is suggesting that the bloodshed should be spread. Quite the opposite. He is suggesting that no blood be shed on either side of this 'forceful' situation.

Jackaas seh de worl' no level. Jackass seh im sorry fe de police dem whe dead an dem fambily an im sorry fe de people whe police kill unda questionable circumstance an fi dem fambily too.