JO - Failed state status on the horizon

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Observer

Failed state status on the horizon

Mark Wignall

Thursday, May 06, 2010

"You chopping, boy, but no chips are flying." - From the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn.

One day last week as I allowed myself the opportunity to watch Senator Dwight Nelson, our minister of national security, address the Upper House on security matters, a number of items jumped out at me.

Read the whole column here.

Snippet(s):

"Just recently the new commissioner, Owen Ellington, made the appeal for the people to assist in the push-back against violent criminality, and the commissioner immediately before him, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, told us in 2005 that Tivoli is the "mother of all garrisons". Before him, Lucius Thomas detailed the corruption inside the police force. And just before the JLP election win in September 2007, the JLP proudly strode into power armed with an impressive crime plan authored by ex-commissioner, Colonel Trevor McMillan."

&

"Commissioner Ellington would probably be the last to admit that many of the advances that were made in taking down criminals of the "Mr Big" type happened mostly with the efforts of the British policemen who came in under the last administration when the security ministry was headed by Peter Phillips. Will he admit, though, that too high a percentage of personnel in the JCF are too close to organised criminality? Nah, he won't."

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observemark@gmail.com

JG - EDITORIAL - The imperative of protecting witnesses

From my archive of press clippings:

Jamaica Gleaner

EDITORIAL - The imperative of protecting witnesses

published: Sunday July 13, 2008

Assistant Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington may have conceded that he does not have the empirical evidence for his claim.

Read the whole editorial here.

Snippet(s):

"We, however, are not about to reject his assertion of accused persons conning the legal system to get information about witnesses against them so as to have these witnesses bumped off. This, after all, is Jamaica, where the murder of witnesses is not an uncommon fact."

&

"The strategy is this:

You are accused of a crime and have been arrested and charged, so you get a good lawyer to represent you and apply for bail.

Having been bailed, you fire that lawyer, who in turn is obligated to turn over the case files to you.

Those files usually have the names and addresses of all the witnesses against you."