Dear Commish

The Editor, Sir:

The following is an open letter to Police Commissioner Owen Ellington.

Dear Commissioner Ellington:

As Jamaica's new police commissioner, you were interviewed on the BBC's 'Caribbean Report' on Monday.

The interviewer asked: "Why can't the (inherent nurturing) link between criminal gangs and some politicians be severed?" You responded that the link would be severed when the two political parties publicly "declare and demonstrate that they have no need and no use whatsoever for individuals who would use violence to coerce others to support or withdraw support from a political party. Much effort has been made in that regard, but there is still much more to be done."

Could the commissioner please tell:

1 What, as you allege, has been done to combat this vile relationship?

2 Who has been doing this combating?

3 What has been achieved? And, what politicians from what party have been stopped from using the criminal network?

4 If you have knowledge of said violence to coerce, would you please inform the public of said politicians?

On another note, you stated that most murders result from the relationships developed in transnational organised crime.

1 What are the specific kinds of evidence that suggest this statement to be true in the 650 murders the police solved last year?

2 If 1,000 murders remain unsolved, on what basis do the police conclude that transnational crime is to blame in this cohort?

3 Why can we solve some murders and not others?

4 To what degree is there a nexus between some politicians and gangs where 'transnational' murders occur?

Thanks for your attention.

I am, etc.,

Mike Franklin