A young Jamaican police detective tells his story.

“My friend Jimmy and I joined the police after high school. We saw a lot of behaviour we didn’t like on the streets and the force was a way to help change things.

My views on the police academy training are very different now from what they were then. The bad language and physical intimidation the instructors used on the drill square I would now consider verbal, emotional and physical abuse. But then I saw it as the norm.

We were taught that brute force was the way to solve problems and that arrogance was part of being a police. We were trained to take a polarized black and white view of everything and to see things only from the force’s standpoint.

With more education and awareness I now realize it is a mistaken mentality. But then it was the only mentality I knew. Remember, I was coming straight out of high school and had just left home. So this was my first exposure to wider society. And this is the same of nearly all police. Training school is a socializing element that literally transforms young innocent boys into killing machines. From you put on the uniform you feel your personality and approach change, as if you have become someone different.

I was proud to be a bad boy. Just 2 months after training I killed someone. I realize now I was definitely wrong. But then I felt justified. I saw it as badge of honour. And I got accolades from superiors and peers. There were many occasions when I used excessive force. Twice I was exonerated by the DPP. But I was advised of loopholes when making reports so as not to highlight brutality.

I was ambitious and wanted to be promoted. So I went to UWI and got a Bachelor’s in Management Studies. It was a transforming experience. I was taught to respect individuality and diversity and that all people are different.  I told Jimmy to join me but he didn’t want to give up earning money to go to school. He is still a constable. When I resumed duty the close bond we had wasn’t there any more. We didn’t use the same language or see things the same way. We just had a different world view. He still believed in brute force.

Don’t get me wrong. Jamaican police have one of the highest rates of being shot in the world. The greatest weapon in any confrontation is the element of surprise and gunmen always have that. So police have to anticipate events and many times honest mistakes are made. You never who has a gun. Look at my friend DC Scott who was shot dead in Half Way Tree while accosting a man. If Scotty had fired first and asked questions later he would still be alive.

Mutty Perkins is grossly unfair when he talks about the police as an occupying force. Most police are honest, hard working, and courageous persons trying their best to make Jamaica a safer place.

But the Kitson Town taxi shooting last year and the recent Three Mile minibus shooting have convinced me that the police force needs to transform its entire mind set. These incidents showed a complete lack of intelligence and absolutely no respect for life. Before I went to UWI I would have condoned them and ‘been on board’. But I see things differently now.

Only more and better and continuous training can prevent things like this. We need more simulations of real life events so police can know how to act in situations they have never encountered. Again the ‘friendly fire’ shooting in Hunts Bay was a clear case of lack of communication and co-ordination. Proper procedure was not followed. Often situations simply boil down to logistics, which is what training is about.

A lot of colleagues feel like I do. But we have no way of channeling information to the top. It has to pass through a long chain of command where ideas often get stopped or distorted. We need more vertical communication. Regular face to face meetings with the commissioner for example. He could have even a quarterly talk in each area where the rank and file can express their views.

We need to upgrade technologically. My investigating unit doesn’t even have a computer. And the force needs to be exposed to outside minds and new ideas. We have been doing things the same way for too long. Basic training should develop your communication skills and reasoning ability. Right now there is little interaction with instructors. You are taught not to reason why but to simply follow orders. Comply first and complain later. We need a mindset change. Recruits should be taught to analyze and then comply.

Implementation is a problem. Many times orders from the Commissioner are passed on but not enforced. Or they are put in place for a while and then stopped for no reason. Look at the Tutor constable program where a rookie was placed under the care of a senior constable who guided him through the practical aspects of policing. It was put in place in 1994 and was operative for about a year and then just died out. It wasn’t revoked or anything. But it was a good system and was having positive results. It should be restarted.

Police should be getting more reports from the public. We need to interact more with citizens in a social setting and not only when there is a problem. We need more intensive community policing, especially in troubled areas. You hear lots of talk, but little implementation. Most police youth clubs are just name only.

Police should be active in civic bodies like neighbourhood watches and churches. When neighbourhood watches are launched police are always present. But then there is no more police involvement. Every neighbourhood watch should have a police assigned to it. And the neighbourhood watch should give feedback to his superiors to make sure his involvement is continuous. You need accountability.

One good development is that most first time petty offenders are now getting community service sentences. Many end up at the police station and interact with us. They come to see police as human beings and when their time expires they feel free to talk with us on the street.

I could make more money if I left the force. Right now my part time job lecturing pays me twice my police salary. But I am a people person and enjoy meeting individuals from all strata of life as you do in the force. Plus policing is a lifetime job and gives you job security. I also like the challenge. I feel a sense of personal triumph each time I solve a case. And I enjoy the fraternity. Wherever I see a police there is a bond between us. I am proud to be a policeman. I feel I am contributing to the betterment of society and making a positive difference.”  changkob@hotmail.com