Do not focus on "those who thrive on distractions, provocations and the spreading of false information," Commish tells cops

Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake has urged cops to not allow themselves to focus, even for “a moment”, on “those who thrive on distraction, provocation and the spreading of false information”.

Blake, who was discussing the value of worry in the weekly Force Orders circulated to all cops, noted that humans have evolved to use worry to respond to stimuli that are not physical threats.

“We worry about a misleading newspaper headline, a harsh and unfair comment on social media, a criticism of your operation from an actor turned so-called security expert and an individual who once had the opportunity to tackle the crime monster in our country and has failed miserably in their effort to achieve even a fraction of what you have,” he wrote.

His comments follow public concerns raised for former police commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin and security consultant Robert Finzi Smith about the conduct of the October 16 police-military operations in Sligoville, St Catherine.

Two cops and three civilians were killed in the operation that the police say target a high-risk criminal target.

However, Blake told the men and women under his command that they should not be distracted by the “uncertain future we conjure up because of something false that is said about us or the unchangeable past”.

“Those [things] within our control are our thoughts, our judgments, our efforts, our values and our choices. Those outside of our control are the weather, things that happened in the past and other people’s opinion of us,” he said.

Blake said the issue was important because a focussed mind is critical to the success of the important tasks entrusted to cops.

“Do not allow the noise around you to become louder than the purpose within you,” he added, urging cops to learn from the setbacks and keep moving forward.

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