#BLOGS#CRIMINALJUSTICE#AWARENESS #INFORMATIVE

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SUGGESTIONS ON HOW NCU’S CAMPUS SECURITY SHOULD APPROACH SOMEONE WITHOUT INFRINGING THEIR RIGHTS

Security guards at educational institutions are expected to ensure the campus’ safety.  They are expected to maintain the safety and peacefulness of the school’s environment.  As a result here are a few suggestions that NCU’s campus security could bear in mind when dealing with students. 

Of course the institution have a few rules and regulation that governs the institution. However, the security guards take advantage their power and bumbard the students from entering or leaving the campus. Yes, everybody is different and we do things differently. One of our constitutional rights is the freedom of expression. We express our selves through our attire, hair and or makeup, it soley depends on who we are as an individual. Depending on your attire, it decides whether you can go to class on campus. As I said we are all different and certain factors should not dictate if we can get a good education or not especially in the case of material items. However, students must bare in mind that it is an educational institution, therefore, they must dress appropriately.

On the other hand, the security gaurds must try to do their job while respecting the rights of the citizens or the general public. The university is an Seventh Day Adventist University and in my opinion they only care for their religion and or denomination. It is important to respect others and their beliefs. Other denominations allow us to do other things like wear jewelry and tattoos. It is important for them to be understanding and try not to impose their denomination or beliefs on others.

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HOW SHOULD YOU BEHAVE WHEN APPROACHED BY A POLICE OFFICER?

Being pulled over or stopped by the police is a stressful experience that can quickly turn bad if you don’t cooperate.  Here are a few strategies to deal with police encounters. 

If you’re driving a vehicle, upon request show your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance.

Avoid making sudden movements, and keep your hands where officer can see them

We want to be as transparent as possible when dealing with a police officer. 

Remain as calm as possible when dealing with a police officer. (try not to display hostility towards the officer)

If you do not wish to say anything depending on the nature of why you were approached by the police officer.  You have can to remain silent and ask for a lawyer immediately 

A police officer may not only approach you on the road but, they may approach you at your home.  

Do not invite the officer into your house, talk with them through the door and ask for them to show their identification.  

If a warrant is present read a warrant to ensure that the information is accurate.  

Even then you the right to remain silent.  Do not answer any question while the search is being done.  Just observe what they do, where they go and what they take.  

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A POLICE OFFICER

Responsibilities and duties are often used interchangeably when it comes on to police officers and what is expected from them by the general public. Duty implies an obligation or moral commitment which an individual is expected to   perform.  However, responsibility refers to the liability which is assumed or accepted by a person, as a part of his job role or position.  In a nutshell, responsibility is the job related activities that the candidate has to perform and is accountable.  

According to the Constabulary Force Act the responsibilities shall be to keep watch by day and by night, to preserve the peace, to detect crime, apprehend or summon before a Justice, persons found committing any offence or whom they may reasonably suspect of having committed any offence, or who may be charged with having committed any offence, to serve and to execute all summonses, warrants, subpoenas, notices, and criminal processes issued from any Court of Criminal Justice or by any Justice in a criminal matter and to do and perform all the duties appertaining to the office of a Constable, but it shall not be lawful to employ any member of the Force in the service of any civil process, or in the levying of  rents, rates or taxes for or on behalf of any private person or incorporated company.  

Responsibilities:

Enforce traffic law 

Resolve disputes 

Deal community safety concerns 

Stop and search vehicles 

Prevent congestion 

Apprehend without a warrant 

Powers to arrest.  

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF A CITIZEN

According to the oxford dictionary, responsibility is defined as the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or having control over someone. Or the state of being accountable or to be blamed for something. Just as we are entitled to our basic fundamental human rights despite our age, appearance, and or socio-economic conditions; we have a few responsibilities as well.

The responsibilities include:

Pay his/her taxes that are levied for the good of the community.

Obey the laws of the land.

Serve as a witness in the court if summoned.

Serving on a jury if called.

However, there are a few voluntary responsibilities which include:

Being loyal to one's country.

Understanding and using the Judicial process accordingly.

Being an active member in the community.

Being an active member in civic organizations.

Voting properly and wisely in elections.

Being a cooperative citizen with law enforcement agencies.

Being well informed on current affairs or issues.

Being helpful and respectful to one's neighbors.

Civics. The National Library of Jamaica. (2020, June 2). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nlj.gov.jm/civics/.

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AGENCIES / ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN HELP

There are a number of agencies/organisation that can help with the protection and violation with our civil liberties.  The majority of these organisations are non-governmental organisations which includes: The Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (1998), Ombudsman and The Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA).  Ofcourse, the agencies aren’t limited to the ones stated above in Jamaica as well as on an international level.  The National Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Without Frontiers and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) are a few organization on a international level

The Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights is the oldest human rights non-governmental organization in the Caribbean.  It is geared towards the development of national consciousness and the recognition of Human Rights and civil liberties.  As well as to build a national movement for the purpose of establishing and defending/protecting human rights and civil liberties throughout Jamaica.  

The Office of the Political Ombudsman was established to conduct investigations in accordance with the provision of the Political Ombudsman Act, 2002.  It is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by the general public.    

The Office of the Children’s Advocate is locate at Air Jamaica Building, 11th Floor, 72 Harbour Street, Kingston.  Their team is equipped and dedicated/passionate about the rights of all children.  Their commitment serves to represent the views of children, advocate for quality service to children and safeguard their rights and well being.   

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RIGHTS VIOLATION IS A NO NO!!!!

According the Jamaican Constitution, chapter 3, the fundamental rights and freedom of a citizen must be protected and respected at all times. If an individual's rights and freedoms are violated or threatened may apply to the Supreme Court (or on appeal to the Court of Appeal) for enforcement of rights and for redress. However, in the public interest, individual rights and freedoms may also be suspended in a manner prescribed by the constitution (in the event of war, calamity of threat of subversion)

A number of rights are being violated in Jamaica on a daily basis. Luckily the Ministry of Justice (balancing rights and responsibilities) has a number of websites open to the general public for educational purposes as it relates to what to do if their rights has been violated.

Often times the rights of individuals are breached in Jamaica. For example, there are countless times persons are held without bail beyond the allotted time under the Bail Act. If you are charged with a criminal offence you are entitled to bail within a 24 hour period of being charged. Another example of a being breached often is upon being arrested you have the right to a lawyer before questioning and if you can´t afford a lawyer one should be provided the legal aid programme.

For further information there are various contacts provided to gain clarity on any questions related to your rights being violated.

Legal Aid Council (Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected])

Indecom (Toll Free: 1-888-935-5550, 1-888-991-5555, Email: [email protected])

The Office of the Public Defender (Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected])

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The Rights of a Northern Caribbean University Students.

As we all know, each individuals have rights and these rights must be respected and protected at all times. To go more in-depth, lets look at the rights of a Northern Caribbean Student. Each student is apart of the institution´s academic community and as a result, they are subjected to a number of rights/special obligations. Northern Caribbean University is an insitution that houses integrity and exercise an appropriate form of restraint and the respect of the opinions and of others when necessary. The rights of the students are as follows:

1. Students´ Right to Enquire

A student who wishes to acquire information regarding the university policies and procedures that affect personal life, or concerns of general interest, may address such to the appropriate administrator or committee.

2. Students´ Right of Appeal

This is basically the matters of public interest for the student body. When a student wishes to make representation on a point affecting all or a portion of the student body actions may be considered appropriate when the representatives of the student body present recommendations with adequate documentation to the Vice-Presendent for Student Services

3. Channels for student Complaint

If a student believes that his/her academic or personal rights have been violated by another student, workers and or a third party in relation to the instittution; there is detailed process to be followed that is stated in the institution´s constitution.

Of course, we all know that NCU is very respectable instution that has a strong foundation on a biblical principles. Therefore if the rights of an individual is being violated, as stated before the institution has a detailed process in which an individual´s voice can be heard and the situation dealt with.

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All Children have rights!!!!!!!!!

January 26, 1990 marks the date when Jamaica signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child and ratified it on May 14, 1991. Children's rights are reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedom and the Child Care and Protection Act.

A child is defined as a person who is below the age of 18. The Committee who is focused on the Rights of the Child encourages the citizens to review the rights that are entitled to child in order to better protect all the children that is apart of the nation. The convention applies to all children, despite the age (below 18), race, abilities and religion. The rights are entitled to each child so all will be treated fairly at all times despite their socio-economic conditions. Additionally, the government is expected to take any necessary, measures to ensure that children's rights are respected, protected and fulfilled at any given time.

In order to promote the best interests, safety and well being of child the following rights has been entitled to all children:

the right to survival

the right to develop to the fullest

the right to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation

the right to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

the right to a legally registered name

the right to an identity

the right to live with their parents (unless its harmful)

In hence, these rights can be considered as a push factor to ensure that all children are met at the minimum standards. As a result, they will be able to meet their full potential individually.

Do good Jamaica. Do Good Jamaica - empower each other | make JAMAICA better. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://dogoodjamaica.org/childrens-rights/.

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Who is a Citizen?

An individual entitled to rights and privileges from a particular country by virtue of birth, naturalization, marrige or even adoption. Being a Jamaican Citizen gives us a legal status that is defined by civil, political and social rights. As it relates to social rights it can be defined as human rights that are moral; legal or societal rules and it is important these rules are understood to fulfil one´s social needs as well as to respect them individually.

As citizens we all have rights and it is important for us to know these rigjts. Jamaican citizens have a number of rights that will is stated in the constitution that is geared to protect and grant respect on a daily basis (make their day to day lives easier, only if they are aware of what these rights are). The rights that Jamaican citizens are entitled to are:

Protection of right to life

Protection from arbitarty arrest

Respect for private and life

Protection for privacy of home and property

Protection of freedom or conscience

Protection of peaceful assembly

Protection from discrimination

Protection of the expression

Rights to fair trial

Right to vote

Freedom of worship

Freedom of movement

Right to personal liberty....

However, in the public interest , individual rights may be suspened in a manner prescribed by the Constitution. In the event of a war/conflict or clamity of threat of subversion. Moreover, if an individual believes that his or rights have been violated or threatened is subjected to apply to the Supreme Court for the enforcement pf rights.

In a nutshell The Jamaica Constitution, 1962. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://jis.gov.jm/media/constit.pdf.

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KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS!!!

Rights are considered to be that which is morally correct, just or honourable and or a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something. However, human rights are basic rights and freedoms that belong to each citizen in any given country from birth until death

As a result, they can be applied in any situation despite your geographical location, religious beliefs and how one choose to live his or her life. The rights enlisted in the constitution are protected by the law and share values like respect, dignity, equality and independence.

Knowing your rights will allow your day to day living much easier. For examples, knowing you have a right to inhuman treatment, respect for private and family life and even the right to personal liberty will help to deter the abuse of power from law enforcement officers/police officers. The knowledge and awareness will give you a voice that will be respected at all times.

Human rights are the foundation of the country´s legal system, therefore it is important to spread awareness to educate the population of their rights as an individual. Hence, a balanced society will be the most likely outcome.

Farlex. (n.d.). rights . The Free Dictionary. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/rights.

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Police caught on camera.

A few weeks ago social media blew up with a video of a police officer caught in a compromising position. The officer was in the back seat of a motor vehicle with a female doing a sexual act in his uniform. Multiple embarrassing memes circulated on social media in a matter of minutes concerning the situation.

The officer was then placed on a departmental leave at a rate of three-quarters of his normal salary. Based on information being circulated on various social media, the JCF continues to support the officer in question emotionally because this incident may have affected his personal and professional life.

As it relates to ethics, in my opinion, the officer disrespected his uniform and the whole JCF body. However, as it relates to what he was doing there's no harm in self-gratification. Due to the high ethical standard that police officers are expected to uphold, seeing a police officer in a tabooed sex position degrades the JCF's ethos.

The police officer was under an ethical issue because I’m sure the necessary personnel had to come together to make the right decision regarding the most suitable punishment or sanction the officer must receive.  

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Criminal activities among Police Officers

Criminal activity among police officers can be consider as police misconduct.  Police misconduct can be defined as the inappropriate conduct and or the illegal actions done by police officers in relation to their official duties. These type of criminal activities/misconduct include; spoiling evidence, police corruption, police brutality and unwarranted searches, etc. Additionally in Jamaica bribing or lobbying legislators to pass or maintain laws that give police excessive power or status is very common.  As it relates to bribing police officers tend to prey on victimless acts that requires a ticket as a means of making money. Moreover these activities may affect the ethical guidelines that police officers are expected to follow.  Before getting more in depth in talking about ethics lets define ethics.  Ethics are principles that guide the standards and behavior of an individual, society or organization. Moreover ethical issues are different social questions that include a controversy over the right thing to do; ethical dilemmas are situations in which one person must make a decision about what to do.    

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Illegal Police Tactics

Illegal Police Tactics

The Jamaican law enforcement agencies and the local police officers seem to be promoting a trend for fear amongst women and their families in rural communities. This is used as a cover up for thousands of alleged unlawful killings. Illegal Police tactics is widely used across Jamaica to ensure relatives of victims of unlawful killing by the police do not require justice. By doing so the police officer will use intimidation, harassment and threats against victim relatives at home, hospitals, workplace and even funerals.

The law enforcement system in Jamaica uses unlawful killings of young men which to them is the best alternative to investigate a crime. This act tends to terrorize their relatives to the point where they have no choice but to keep silent. According to a article written by Ericka Guevara- Rosas, America's Director at Amnesty International; Since 2000, law enforcement officials in Jamaica have allegedly killed more than 3,000 people, mostly young men living in marginalized/rural communities. Despite the overwhelming evidence of people involvement in the crime, to Amnesty International's knowledge only a handful of officers have been convicted of the murder since then.

Police officers continues to be conniving and this include altering crime scenes, threatening victims relatives to persuade them from reporting abuse to the authorities and even planting evidence/weapons on victims. Backlogs in the justice system along with chronic delays is just a gate way for police officers to continue illegal tactics because they already know the out come.

The Jamaican authorities should consider the seriousness of illegal police tactics. The country's high level of police killings and violence should be immediately altered. Not only the problem should be addressed but also the root cause of the ongoing issue that continues to affect the lives of many Jamaicans.

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Policing and the Community

Lack of trust between Police and the Community.

Police-community relationships are important. This kind of relationship is geared towards maintaining public safety and good policing. Often times police officers rely less on community members to provide information and or insights about certain crimes in their neighborhoods. However these community member that give the police information is categorized into five (5) categories

• Public Spirited Citizens- victims, neighbors, children and law enforcement officers who gives genuine information in good faith

•Busy Bosy- imagine that a offense of a certain type has been committed ( information is unreliable)

•Esentric Persons- these person suffer from mental illness and sometimes provide useful information.

• Confidential Informants- these persons may be a criminal or have criminal family members or even associated with criminal. These person expect to get a reward.

Community members’ willingness to trust the police depends on whether they trust the police officer and/or how best the officer does his/her work. Additionally how police officers react to certain incidents will determine if the community members will distribute any information that they poses. As you may know there are many instances where police officers abuse their power and police brutality comes into play.

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Selection and Evaluation of Police Officers

Training, Development and Management as a issue in Law Enforcement.

Training is an important aspect in policing, every police officer must be properly trained due to the fact that their jobs are very tedious. However the requirements to be come a police officer is not good enough (that’s just my opinion). The requirements include: a minimum of 4 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects (must include English), and a police entrance exams. Male applicants must be at least 5 feet 7 inches in height with minimum weight of 135 pounds. For the females, they must be at least 5 feet 5 inches and weigh at least 125 pounds. Majority of the police officers are inexperienced ( just coming out over high school) also they could be joining the force for the wrong reasons. As a pending law enforcement practitioner officer my recommendation as It relates to the training aspect multiple training sessions should be implemented as well as multiple assessment and at least a Associate degree before they are considered to be apart of the police force.

Development in the heading simplifies that there is a need for change. A change in the law enforcement system in of it self. There are various issues that continues to plague the society including: corruption, linkage blindness, management, illegal police tactics and communication. Police officers need to understand the seriousness of their position in society.

Thirdly, management, this is a process of planning, time management and decision making as well as motivating. Police officer tends to be unreservedly to certain cases and or lack punctuality due to what the incident may be. Each police officer is expected to prioritize their jobs even if it its a minor incidents. However common duities of policing include patrolling neighborhoods (by foot or vehicle), controlling traffic, responding to emergency calls, arresting violators, and submitting incident reports in a timely manner.

Most Jamaicans believes that, "a links run this" which is indeed true. Us as Jamaican, we like to grant favours. For instance, if my aunt is the manger for a hotel and a job oppourtunity is open. I am in in need of a job so I gave her a call and she said, "I can come for the interview. Upon arriving there was another person their as well. Fast forward, I got the job even though the other interviewee is more qualified that I am because my aunt is and the manager.

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Linkages Blindness/Being Ethically Blind

What is Linkage Blindness?

This happens when administrators and investigators will not admit or do not know that a serial killer is in their midst.

Linkage Blindness is one of the major weaknesses of our structural defenses in Jamaica against crime and our ability to control it. The exchange of useful information/data among the different police departments within the fourteenth (14) parishes is very poor and it is affecting the nation as a whole. This issue simply defines the lack of sharing and or coordinating information as well as the lack of adequate interaction by local law enforcement agencies.

This lack of sharing is prevalent in Jamaica with law enforcement officers and their agencies. As it is a contributing factor to the high crime rates within the country and this supports the Jamaican slang " see n blind, hear n deaf." An example of linkage blindness or a situation that can help to better define the issue is if a Police officer or a detective/investigator is unable to relate a crime to another because of various factors/reasons. This could be a result of a police officer distributing valuable information that could assist an officer to pin a suspect to the crime. Additionally, not only police officers, but community members can also contribute to the issue by housing criminals.

Linkage Blindness is still an ongoing issue in Jamaica so there is yet to be a solution to fix this because it is doing more bad than good. As a pending Law enforcement practitioner my recommendation to aid this issue is for a digital documentation system to be implemented. This will allow for each station to have access to certain information/data. By doing so will eliminate the whole linkage blindness issue and the work of the officer will become less tedious as well as the crime rates will decrease.

Ethically blind basically means that persons of good behavior or of high integrity behave in a way that is not in their nature.  

People tend to behave unethically without even realizing it at times. Numerous times police officers and even citizens decide choose to be ethically blind in some situations.  Alot of time persons may know information on particular person of interest and they choose to be silent on the matter. “sniches get stiches” Being ethical blind to situation can cause a person with high integrity to deviate from the ethical value they set for them selve or what they have to follow.    

An example of a situation where a person is being ethically blind is “ A police officer living in a house where a occupant of that same house is involved in lottery scamming. Ethical blindness comes in where as the police might choose not to report the lottery scammer because they might for a relationship and he’ll choose not to say anything to the authorites or make an arrest.” Another example of a situation is “A man may be wanted by the police, but his mom or family member allows him to in their home. (provide food and shelter for the wanted man).  This family is ethically blind because the wanted man is a loved one.  It can also be a result of the wanted man threating the owner of the house where he is hiding.