Jamaican Police.Com

According to Dr. Gary Slutkin – executive director of the Chicago-based Ceasefire International – violently aggressive law enforcement will not bring an end to crime in the volatile communities across the island. Speaking yesterday during a forum hosted by the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) and the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, Slutkin said the Jamaican police should rely more on community policing and peace initiatives to stem the tide of violence in the island.

Some quotes from Slutkin:

“A lot of things that the police do …. they are actually extremely counterproductive and they make things worse, even though they may have the right intention.”

“When the police show up with guns it causes the community and the high-risk people to want to use guns more. Additional police presence is required when a situation is very hot (but) community policing, where the police are really trying to get to know the people more and they get to trust each other, that is really the future.”

“When you have a child (misbehaving), you hit this child and he stops. But really, what the child is learning is how to avoid that punishment and to do it at another time when no one is looking and, even more importantly, that child has learnt how to be aggressive.”

Slutkin warned that, even if the police were to use force to end violence in communities, this would be a temporary solution. He warned that the fatal shooting of alleged gunmen and murderers was not the answer, and that this strategy could cause community members to develop a level of aggression towards the security forces. He called for a partnership involving the Ministry of National Security, the Peace Management Initiative and Chicago Ceasefire to help stem the social problems that breed crime.

Tags : Aggressive Policing, Ceasefire International, Gary Slutkin