Chang says criticism of police killings endangers cops

Minister of National Security & Peace Dr. Horace Chang has again defended the security forces in response to public concerns about the seemingly high incidence of police alleged criminal confrontations which result in fatalities.

Dr. Chang was responding to Opposition Spokesman Fitz Jackson during his appearance at the recently concluded deliberations of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee.

Mr. Jackson, while commending the administration for the efforts which have led to a recent reduction in murders and  major crimes, questioned “the corresponding increase in police fatalities (sic) over the period.”

“It would be insincere,” not to acknowledge that fact, he argued.

Desist 

For his part, Dr. Chang urged critics of the security forces to desist from engaging in activities which, he claimed, only serve to demoralise the security forces.

“When you begin to do that, it not only demotivates the police officers… it exposes polices officers to risk,” he argued, highlighting what he said was a case of two officers being killed “when the noise was that the police were executing criminals.”

He said the main purpose behind the establishment of INDECOM (Independent Commission of Investigation) was to “take that kind of controversy out of the public space and (act as) a strong institution that can investigate police behavior and fatal shootings and let the criminal justice system decide whether it was so or not.”

He characterised much of the criticisms being leveled at the security forces, on the other hand, as “veranda talk noise,” which he said was “wrong and it undermines the security forces…”

Inverse relationship

Dr Chang also highlighted what he said was an inverse relationship, in which when police shootings go up, murders decline.

“When you have a coefficient of one… you know that the two things are directly related,” he asserted.

Elaborating, he said: “I’m not saying that every shooting is legitimate or illegitimate, but what it is saying is that police are killing murderers, and that I have to support. That’s what that relationship states, statistically; not by my emotions… this is a statistical relationship that says fatal shootings by the police are the fatal shooting of murders, and that must be respected, and where there are questions, they must be allowed to go through the criminal justice system.”