New Police Commissioner to Improve Police-Citizen Relations

Newly appointed Commissioner of Police, Dr. Carl Williams, says he will be increasing efforts to improve relations between the police and citizens in a bid to fight crime.

In an interview on the JIS programme, ‘Issues and Answers’, on September 26, the Commissioner pointed out that fighting crime is a shared responsibility, as the police cannot do it alone.

“This is a societal problem that requires a societal response. All members of the Jamaican society will have to join with the police to ensure that we restore peace and tranquillity to communities,” Dr. Williams said.

He further noted that the police will have to ensure that they go into both inner-city and uptown communities “and get everyone together, in partnership,” to fight crime.

The Commissioner said members of the force will be going out to town hall meetings to engage the people in their communities.

“We will be doing a lot with those meetings. I will be there, as many as I can attend. I will be meeting with the people in the rural communities, talking to farmers about their concerns about praedial larceny and we will be seeking solutions together. We have to do these things to get the people back on our side, getting them to work with us and trust us, so that we can get to the bottom of this problem that is plaguing our country,” Dr. Williams noted.

The Commissioner emphasised that policing is done on the road and not in the office. “We have to get the people to understand us and we should understand them; that is where the rebuilding of respect, trust and confidence will have to start,” the Commissioner said.

Dr. Williams pointed out that members of the police force are public servants. “We are not the people’s masters,” the Commissioner said, emphasising that by the end of his tenure, he wants everyone to appreciate this fact.

“I would like to be able to hand off this police force to the next generation of leaders as a professional institution that will engender trust and respect from the citizens,” he added.