A policeman is in trouble again, but this time it doesn't involve a shooting, a break-in or collecting bribes. Surprisingly enough, he is being investigated for what I think was actually a good thing.

The back story is that the constable was assigned to shut down an event being held to raise funds for a youngster who is in one of these national singing competitions. However, instead of shutting down the event, the policeman, in uniform, became involved in a musical showdown with a deejay, and from all reports, the deejaying cop now faces disciplinary charges, including misconduct, soliciting money and several other related charges.

I have heard some audio of what went down, and I must admit that the policeman has got some skills, and he may have, inadvertently or otherwise, discovered other skills as well. And while I will agree that some of his lyrics were unfortunate, I thought what he did can only help the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), not hurt it.

Community policing

Look, for years now the police High Command has been calling for greater efforts to be made in the area of community policing, and, in many respects, headway has been made through several initiatives employed by the JCF. However, as is often the case, those efforts at community policing are often derailed by the actions of serial killers masquerading as policemen.

The actions of this constable, however, I think, will do the JCF a lot more good than anything else. People will argue that he was in uniform and that he should not have used the lyrics he did, especially those regarding the police oversight authority, Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), but, in the long run, this cop would have ingratiated himself with that community more than any other policeman would have in recent times.

For those moments that he was on stage with the microphone in his hand, he was not just a member of the JCF, he was a member of that community. The people let their guard down and welcomed him into their hearts. He was helping raise money for a member of that community to try and realise their dream, and he was telling the people that he was there them.

If this policeman is an otherwise decent person, he can open channels of communication between the police and that community that were possibly non-existent before then, and in so doing, help build a stronger bond between the police and the community. And that's where the solutions to our crime problems start.

Public relations

Now I am not saying that all cops must now go out and start grabbing microphones everywhere, but there is a lesson to be learned here. The video posted on social media of the policeman doing his thing has been viewed more than 50,000 times. That's public relations the police High Command couldn't pay for. This policeman, in being derelict in his duty, has put something very positive out there about the police. When was the last time anyone said that about the JCF?

When was the last time you heard a story about the JCF that didn't involve someone being killed, arrested, or 'stung'?

If I was the person investigating this constable, I would recommend a pardon and have someone send him a letter of encouragement to keep up the good work. I am sure that would be music to his ears and that of the community that he recently entertained.

On any given day, I would prefer to hear about a cop deejaying about shooting than actually shooting someone.

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