Police personnel need better treatment

THE EDITOR, MADAM:

THE JAMAICA Constabulary Force (JCF) is the agency of government that enforces the law of the land. They also contribute immensely to government revenues, amounting to millions of dollars every year, through court fines and the seizure of assets. Despite this, they are treated with scant regard and rewarded with inadequate remuneration for their service.

Further, to make their situation even worse, in the present salary negotiations, the Government is offering them a four per cent increase on their measly salary and expects them to function at full throttle. This situation is unreasonable and untenable, and the Government needs to rethink its strategy or risk losing members, which they can least afford at this time.

The problems that are plaguing the police force, such as poor working conditions, remuneration, among others, did not occur overnight. Successive governments from either of the two political parties have had to deal with these issues, and none have adequately address the concerns of the members. Instead, the approach we have seen the Government engaged in is piecemeal approaches that do not fix the fundamental problems. If, indeed, the Government had the JCF as a priority, it should not be the case that force members have to purchase their uniforms, work under poor conditions and long hours without reasonable remuneration. This act of omission is not symptomatic of a concerned employer; it is contrary to what is expected of a responsible employer. In light of this, it is imperative that the Government urgently address the concerns raised by the Jamaica Police Federation, I expect nothing less.

ERROL MCLEISH