By Kisean Joseph
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A retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (COP) said law enforcement has lost the public trust needed to cultivate informants, calling it one of the most critical tools in effective crime-fighting.
The former COP, Nuffield Burnette, said current policing strategies have become largely reactive, rather than proactive’, and argued that a breakdown in public confidence is undermining one of law enforcement’s most valuable resources.
“What seemed to be the enemy of the police, now what we call cultivating informants, police seem not to have the ability to do that anymore because there is no trust,” Burnette said. “That is one of the main pillars in policing and police crime-fighting. In my day, that was a big deal.”
Burnette said the loss of trust has consequences that extend well beyond individual investigations, hampering broader efforts to track the source of illegal firearms entering the country.
“Where they’re getting the guns from, we know. The guns come through the seaport and the airport,” Burnette said. “Some of our respectable people in society are responsible for the importation of these firearms. And it’s calling for vigilance and, of course, surveillance.”
Rebuilding that trust, Burnette added, must be a priority if police are to make meaningful progress against rising crime, alongside continued investment in surveillance infrastructure, such as cameras.
Former senior officer: Police must rebuild public trust to fight crime
