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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dear Editor,
Dr Henley Morgan's column of March 26, "Size matters", debating Commissioner Lewin's switch from the M16 rifle to the MP-5 sub-machine gun, raises some urgent questions about how Commissioner Lewin intends to fight effectively organised criminals carrying high-velocity weapons.
And did Commissioner Lewin invite discussion from front-line cops before reducing their firepower, or did the pressure groups and politicians twist his arm? And what effect will it have on police morale when gunmen are firing their high-velocity assault weapons against the much lower rated MP-5?
By technical comparison, the rate of fire of Commissioner Lewin's MP-5 sub-machine gun is 800 rounds per minute, with mussel velocity (speed at which the bullet exits the barrel of the weapon) at 1,312 feet per second. The more popular M16 assault rifle does 800-900 rounds per minute - around the same as the MP-5 sub-machine gun , but with more potent mussel velocity at 3,200 feet per second, more than twice the mussel velocity of the commissioner's favoured MP-5. Compare both to a regular police .38 pocket pistol with mussel velocity of 1,150 feet per second, almost the same as the inferior power of the Commissioner's MP-5.
Where do we go from here, now that our chief law enforcer has pulled the rug from under the feet of the police by handing them an inferior gun?
Before discontinuing the M16 as the police standard issue rifle, and thereby reducing police firepower, the commissioner should have visited the US to see how police there are trained to use high-powered weapons like the M16 assault rifle in urban environments. Without specific weapons training designed for police discharging weapons in urban areas, even the commissioner's favoured MP-5 sub-machine gun can result in as many unintended victims as the M16 is being blamed for.
It would also be instructive to know the type of police weapons resulting in unintended victims in Jamaica. Surely, the M16 could not have accounted for them all. What if it turns out that police .38 and 9mm hand guns are also significantly the "cause" of unintended police shootings? Those numbers need to be made public.
The real issue might be: just how straight can the police shoot?
The police commissioner's partial withdrawal of the M16 assault rifle might be consolation to groups like Jamaicans for Justice. They should hold their approval for the withdrawal decision until they get all the facts and understand what is at stake on both sides of the partial discontinuance of the M16 assault rifle.
Commissioner, what the police really need is the more advanced version of the M16 - the M4 carbine with its high-quality Trijicon scope, so that police can see their target magnified and perceptually up close, for precise aiming. The magnified image will also prevent a cop from discharging the weapon when it shows clearly in his rifle scope that a toddler is situated 200 metres away and in the path of his aim.
Police high-powered rifles with scopes are standard issue in the US, and Jamaican police should not be without it either.
Get it right, Commissioner. The police need more advanced weapons systems, not inferior ones. </div></div>
Reference:
<span style="color: #000099">Reid, E. (2008, April 7). Letters. The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved on April 8 2008, from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/letters/h..._M__CARBINE.asp</span>
Dr Henley Morgan's column of March 26, "Size matters", debating Commissioner Lewin's switch from the M16 rifle to the MP-5 sub-machine gun, raises some urgent questions about how Commissioner Lewin intends to fight effectively organised criminals carrying high-velocity weapons.
And did Commissioner Lewin invite discussion from front-line cops before reducing their firepower, or did the pressure groups and politicians twist his arm? And what effect will it have on police morale when gunmen are firing their high-velocity assault weapons against the much lower rated MP-5?
By technical comparison, the rate of fire of Commissioner Lewin's MP-5 sub-machine gun is 800 rounds per minute, with mussel velocity (speed at which the bullet exits the barrel of the weapon) at 1,312 feet per second. The more popular M16 assault rifle does 800-900 rounds per minute - around the same as the MP-5 sub-machine gun , but with more potent mussel velocity at 3,200 feet per second, more than twice the mussel velocity of the commissioner's favoured MP-5. Compare both to a regular police .38 pocket pistol with mussel velocity of 1,150 feet per second, almost the same as the inferior power of the Commissioner's MP-5.
Where do we go from here, now that our chief law enforcer has pulled the rug from under the feet of the police by handing them an inferior gun?
Before discontinuing the M16 as the police standard issue rifle, and thereby reducing police firepower, the commissioner should have visited the US to see how police there are trained to use high-powered weapons like the M16 assault rifle in urban environments. Without specific weapons training designed for police discharging weapons in urban areas, even the commissioner's favoured MP-5 sub-machine gun can result in as many unintended victims as the M16 is being blamed for.
It would also be instructive to know the type of police weapons resulting in unintended victims in Jamaica. Surely, the M16 could not have accounted for them all. What if it turns out that police .38 and 9mm hand guns are also significantly the "cause" of unintended police shootings? Those numbers need to be made public.
The real issue might be: just how straight can the police shoot?
The police commissioner's partial withdrawal of the M16 assault rifle might be consolation to groups like Jamaicans for Justice. They should hold their approval for the withdrawal decision until they get all the facts and understand what is at stake on both sides of the partial discontinuance of the M16 assault rifle.
Commissioner, what the police really need is the more advanced version of the M16 - the M4 carbine with its high-quality Trijicon scope, so that police can see their target magnified and perceptually up close, for precise aiming. The magnified image will also prevent a cop from discharging the weapon when it shows clearly in his rifle scope that a toddler is situated 200 metres away and in the path of his aim.
Police high-powered rifles with scopes are standard issue in the US, and Jamaican police should not be without it either.
Get it right, Commissioner. The police need more advanced weapons systems, not inferior ones. </div></div>
Reference:
<span style="color: #000099">Reid, E. (2008, April 7). Letters. The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved on April 8 2008, from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/letters/h..._M__CARBINE.asp</span>
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