September 18, 2000
 

JAMAICANS UNITED AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY 

OUR CORRESPONDENT WRITES:

 "The Roots FM [Radio] programme was inspiring.  The programme looked at theformal and informal justice systems, and callers responded on whether they would approach police or the don/area leader if they had a problem. Most of the callers wanted the formal justice system to work, but felt it was too flawed and corrupt to be effective. Most of the calls were about how the police treat domestic violence issues in innercity communities.

 One caller said she had stabbed her man when she couldn't get relief from the beating. Some said the don's/area leader's intervention was usually effective - he would talk to the man, and if the man didn't straighten up, he would have to pay. Payment could be the loss of some valued item like a car, or it could be a beating or the man could be chased from the community.

 The consensus (not surprising!) was that the police could not be trusted, and one man said if anything happened to his daughter, he would take the law into his own hands. However callers were concerned that the don/area leader was accountable to no one, and that sometimes his punishments were too brutal. The feeling was that if a problem occurred 'de police bwaay-dem kyaan do anyting'. The link between the police and the don/area leader was seen as too close, with police referring people to the don for justice, and reporting to the don on citizen's complaints. A caller felt that if you go to the police, you can lose your life.

 Police killed someone on Binns Road today, and the community protested, saying the youth was killed in cold blood. The police story was the same recitation about shootout and finding the man injured with a gun and spent'live shells. Naturally when they took him to Kingston Public Hospital he wasdeclared dead.  The news reported that Pierre Sane of Amnesty Internationalwas on the spot, but no details as yet."

YS 

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