After less than a month as acting commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Mr Owen Ellington has found himself in press-conference mode, issuing warnings that are virtually inaudible against the noisy background of corruption in the corridors of the State.

According to Acting Commissioner Ellington, whose press conference was the subject of our lead story on Friday, there appears to be “an escalation in the participation by members of the JCF in criminal gangs as well as consorting with known criminal elements”.

In a demonstration of concern at this trend — which we all know is not new — Acting Commissioner Ellington issued a warning to members of the constabulary to “stop associating themselves with criminals and criminal gangs”.

Failure to take the warning seriously, the acting commissioner stated, would lead to “dire consequences”.

We have a few questions, the answers to which Mr Ellington may find instructive.

Is he totally unaware of the many nefarious associations between police officers and the State-sanctioned dons that his predecessor spoke out so passionately against prior to demitting office last month?

Does his warning extend to them?

Are the officers who have been brought to book over the last two weeks the only cops in whose moral authority to lead he has lost confidence?

If they are not, what does he plan to do about the others?

There is much to be fixed here, and as bad as the reports of policemen taking active part in gun battles against their colleagues are, they are really just one facet of the deeper problem in the constabulary and the wider society of which the force is a microcosm.

It is all well and good to state that corrupt cops must go. However, equally important is an examination of where these corrupt cops came from in the first place. For if and when they go, they must of necessity be replaced. And chances are that if their replacements are to be recruited from the ranks of a morally bankrupt and corrupt society, they too will be susceptible to the network of crime which has penetrated the society so deeply.

These are the sad facts that must inform the acting commissioner’s modus operandi if he is to leave a credible legacy for his successor to follow.

We really do understand the formidable task that lies ahead of him and wish him the very best. For we see in Acting Commissioner Ellington a good man with the best interest of Jamaica at heart. In this regard we have one suggestion for the acting commissioner’s next press conference: Call a spade a spade and let the chips fall where they may.