“Encounter”, in the English dictionary, has two essential ingredients. One, it implies an unexpected meeting, and two, the meeting must be ...
“Encounter”, in the English dictionary, has two essential ingredients. One, it implies an unexpected meeting, and two, the meeting must be of persons in conflict. The very ingredient of a surprise meeting with an opponent makes the juxtaposition of the noun “specialist” incongruous. There can be no specialisation in sudden and unexpected meetings with criminals who the police want to put out of action.
The bold truth is that on prior information from rival gangs, the police confront the criminals. Obtaining that information is legitimate police work if, of course, the rival gangster parting with the information does not expect to be protected in return. If the elimination of a rival leaves the field open to the informer, the entire transaction takes a different hue.
Encounter specialists – I know not why and who invented this moniker and when – operated on the basis of information provided by rival gangs. There was a distinct measure of danger involved in this arrangement. Some leeway had to be allowed to the informant, which translated into permission to carry on his own nefarious business. Responsible police leaders, surely, could not bless any such understanding.
The arrangement also tempted the specialists to dip their own hands into the till. Extorting...
