Police Officers Association (POA) members said yesterday that the constabulary would be intensifying its drive to apprehend and prosecute Jamaicans who continue to offer bribes to the police.
The cops said that with pressure already mounting on many of their colleagues involved in the illegal activity, a drive has been launched to send the message, and, if necessary, fear into the hearts of members of the public that if caught supporting the act they will be punished. "Members of the public should be warned that those who engage in this sort of activity will feel the full brunt of the law," said Superintendent Michael James, head of the POA. James, who was speaking at the Observer's Monday Exchange meeting of reporters and editors at the newspaper's Beechwood Avenue offices, said that members of the public had to start realising their role in helping to weed out corruption in the police force. Another POA member, Senior Superintendent Wray Palmer, agreed. "Citizens have to start recognising that they too have a responsibility to carry out in this fight against crime," said Palmer, who noted that there needs to be greater level of fear among members of the public that they too would be slapped with harsh penalties when caught trying to offer bribes to cops. "The fear must be spread right across the board," said Palmer. The cops, in voicing their concerns, said they also believed that there was some truth to the philosophy that it takes a corrupt society for a perceived 'corrupt' police force to strive.
source: KIMMO MATTHEWS, Observer
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