Shields

JAMAICA'S CRIME chief Mark Shields is defending the performance of the British cops now employed to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

"We were not brought here to solve the crime problem," Shields, the deputy commissioner of police in charge of crime, told The Gleaner yesterday.

Shields led the entry of British officers to the JCF in 2005, paving the way for Les Green, Justin Felice, John McLean and Paul Robinson, all of whom were employed at the rank of assistant commissioner of police.

"We were brought here to assist in the modernisation of the JCF and I believe that we have played a critical role in that. At no time did somebody say to me 'we would like you to come and solve the crime problem'. Frankly, I would have laughed," Shields said.

Little dent

Despite the presence of the British officers, there has been little dent in the major-crime figures. Yesterday, Shields admitted he was not comfortable with where those figures currently stood.

The year after Shields arrived, major crimes fell from 10,693 to 8,965. Murder also decreased from 1,674 to 1,340 but since then, has again trended upwards. Police statistics indicate that 1,574 persons were murdered last year, and this year, 1,241 had been murdered at the end of September. Major crimes at the end of September rose from 971 over the corresponding period last year to 1,241.

"We are not the panacea that is going to make the thing better. The dent is not going to be made by any small group. It has to be made by everybody and a complete cultural change, and it is going to take years," Shields said.

Meanwhile, at least one professional organisation is not impressed by the work of Shields and Green.

"All the statistics indicate that there has been no real or substantial improvement since they have been here," said Jacqueline Samuels Brown, president of the Jamaican Bar Association.

"There has been a lot of hype and a lot of talk, but when you look at what has been happening in society, there has been no real improvement," she added.

Minister of National Security Colonel Trevor MacMillan yesterday stayed away from an assessment of the work of the foreign cops.

Not my portfolio

"Unfortunately, that is not my portfolio. It comes under the commissioner of police and the Police Services Commission, and in fact, I'm awaiting a report on them," MacMillan said.

Noel Hylton, the chairman of the Police Services Commission, was off the island yesterday and not available for comment.

The contracts for Shields and Green expire next year and they have been offered extensions.

When he arrived in 2005, public sentiment suggested Shields would become the crime czar. However, the former Scotland Yard detective said yesterday that high expectations were dangerous.

"I think there may have been an expectation that there would have been a huge drop in crime or murder when we arrived, and I think that was unjustified," Shields said.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com