Our Acting Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington has hit the ground running by outlining his foci as murder reduction, protection of rights and visibility of police personnel. This is good because it shows urgency and that he is not waiting for the title of commissioner to be conferred on him before he acts.

In addition, the mission of the police Force should be changed to simply be 'To protect life, rights and property'. And there should be a strategy to accomplish the goal.

To reduce the number of murders, in other words, to protect life is a tall order. Since the 1960s, the trend is that every decade the murder rate has increased dramatically. And the problems with stemming the murder rate are manifold. First of all, there is too much tolerance of violence in the society. Too much of our music and our interpersonal discourse is violent. There is also a lack of sympathy for victims of violence. Additionally, weapons of destruction are too easily available. The weapons today are far more destructive than those of the 1950s and accessibility for gangsters is easy.

Strong support

Furthermore, the support cast for persons committing murder is strong. There are persons providing hiding place and engaging in domestic chores in support of criminality. Finally and most important, the conviction rate of persons committing murders has declined drastically in the last decade. Whereas in most jurisdictions the major work of police is to ascertain who committed the killing, in Jamaica, within hours of the killing, many persons know who is the killer. However, the killers have no fear of detection and worse no fear of conviction. The witnesses are afraid to testify in courts. There needs to be a specific strategy to bring persons who kill to justice.

Last Saturday, I attended two funerals, one for Linton Barnes at Commodore New Testament of God, Linstead, and the other for John Johnson at Boulevard Baptist Church, St Andrew. Both were killed by the gun. In addition, Barnes, a 4-H Club stalwart and businessman, was killed in the presence of his wife. His twenty-two-year-old cousin was also killed in his house. This is the same family which had a twenty-eight-year-old relative killed in a churchyard just after he finished preaching some two years ago. His death was said to be linked to his not giving approval to a job-related request. From where I sit, there was not enough outrage at these killings. There is not enough information on these victims and their contri-bution to their family and nation. And chances are the killers are known and will not be brought to justice.

Intelligence

Recently, two female managers were killed and already there is intelligence about why they were killed and who were behind the deaths. But again, the chances of the killers getting convicted are slim. Ellington's success in murder reduction will depend on the ability to get convictions of those responsible for the murders.

There is also need for the police to protect property. There is a need for persons to feel safe in their homes and businesses. Extortion is making business unprofitable and is life threatening. Praedial larceny is a serious disincentive to farming.

The police force ought to respect the rights of Jamaicans and also protect the rights of Jamaica. There should not be one rule for persons who are poor and another for the rich. All must be treated equally and fairly by the police.

Let us support the police in all their efforts to protect our lives, our rights and our properties.