Radcliffe Lewis, retired Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and famend crime-fighter, has come out in agency assist of Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake’s latest controversial assertion that “I do not prepare my police to lose.”
Lewis describes the prison exercise plaguing Jamaica as an “insurgency” and believes the commissioner’s stance is justified given the lethal threats officers face.
“Our criminals now are terrorists. I might classify their actions as insurgency and when you have got an insurgency, you must cope with it a specific method,” Lewis mentioned.
“It’s a must to remind your self that the criminals are firing at you to kill you, so that you can’t be firing to shoot prison in them foot, toe and fingers. The person has an intention to kill you. So you must cope with that particular person within the acceptable method. If that particular person survived, so be it. If, as an illustration, he dies, then there may be nothing you are able to do,” Lewis mentioned.
His feedback echo rising issues over the perceived aggressive ways being employed by members of the Jamaica Constabulary Drive. No less than 50 individuals have been killed in alleged confrontation by cops for the reason that begin of the 12 months, a mean of almost one per day. Human rights group Jamaicans for Justice final week warned that “If this development continues, Jamaica might see over 250 residents killed by members of the safety forces by the top of the 12 months”.
Contacted for touch upon the problem yesterday, Lewis insisted that “the police are there to apprehend”.
“The police do not need to take anyone’s life unnecessarily, however when you have interaction them in a shootout, that merely means you have got the intention to kill them, and they’re going to shoot to neutralise the particular person, and to neutralise them from being killed,” Lewis mentioned.
“There isn’t any different method. Our criminals now are insurgents, and you must cope with them accordingly. The police should defend themselves and the nation in any respect prices.”
