Horace Chang | Citizen security business group to ensure success of social investment

It is widely accepted that “crime prevention is a long-term goal, but crime reduction is an immediate need”. It is my position, and that of the Government, that in order to achieve the sustainable crime reduction that we desire, we must, as a matter of priority, reconsider and reposition our crime-prevention efforts. With this in mind, we have shifted our approach to social investments to ensure sustainability, transparency, and meaningful community transformation.

The most critical component of the new structure for social investment is the coordination of all government agencies, and this is done under the citizen security business group. The group will ensure that social investment is effectively coordinated so that we optimise efficiency and assure quality engagement. The business group comprises the financial secretary; all permanent secretaries; the head of all the relevant agencies such as the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), HEART/NSTA Trust, and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ); the chief of defence staff; the commissioner of police; and the director general of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA). The Group is supported by the Cabinet Office through the Cabinet secretary and the Office of the National Security Advisor (ONSA).

This reflects the Government’s commitment to achieving the desired outcome in our social-investment programme.

As a matter of priority, the provision of core social services, namely education, public health, and access to the social safety net, is being reorganised and improved to reach all those who are in genuine need. The Business Group ensures that quality public service and essential public good to the at-risk areas are effectively managed and coordinated.

PLAN IN ACTION

Last year’s statistics suggest that 11 police divisions – five in the Corporate Area, three in western Jamaica, and three in St Catherine and Clarendon – account for 82 per cent of homicides. The Citizen Security Plan is not only seeking to improve policing in these divisions, but will devote significant social investment to these areas, which account for the highest number of at-risk communities.

Undoubtedly, improvement to the security environment within our most volatile and at-risk communities is required to enhance the country’s economic prospects and to provide prosperity for its citizens. The Citizen Security Plan (CSP) is designed to reduce widespread criminal violence and provide opportunities for the development of vulnerable communities. The CSP is focused on two main objectives: the first is efficient policing to provide safe spaces with immediacy, and the second is the targeted intensification of social investment to restore the dignity of our citizens in these highly challenged areas by ensuring equity and providing opportunities.

REMOVING SILOS

Our legacy and experience have been a siloed approach by all the agencies, which is partly cultural and partly the result of scarcity of resources that has affected these agencies over the years. However, for social investment to be successful, it requires a high level of coordination of the relevant agencies. Effective coordination will improve efficiency in every way, particularly spending efficiency, where for every dollar spent, we will not lose 50 cents, but, in fact, gain 10 cents on the dollar. As the phrase goes, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, therefore, if we pull the government agencies together as one, we get better results than when each of them runs on their own steam.

Ultimately, effective coordination will ensure good public-health service, which when accompanied by effective social services will guarantee adequate nutrition for our students and lead to quality infant and primary education. All of this will operate in the context of safer spaces, assured by the work of the police force, and includes good roads, adequate water supply, and proper garbage disposal.

This kind of activity is mirrored in the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs), where the activities are very intense. However, this is a policy that has to be broadened to the many volatile and vulnerable communities across the island, as identified by the PIOJ’s research.

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND OVERSIGHT

Governance and oversight mechanisms are crucial elements to the effective and coherent implementation of social investment. In addition to the Citizen Security Business Group, the Citizen Security Secretariat (CSS) is critical in this regard.

The CSS is the hub for the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning framework of the Citizen Security Plan of Jamaica. It monitors the activities of the implementing agencies on a real-time basis, which allows for effective coordination, accountability and timely changes as required. In instances where outcomes are not met, the budget will not be provided. Specific outcomes are identified that must be met in order for the agencies to receive financial allocation from the Ministry of Finance. Some of these targets are:

• the status of governance, coordinating, and oversight mechanisms;

• the number of parents trained under parenting programmes;

• the number of safe spaces created;

• the number of police stations and facilities rehabilitated;

• the number of at-risk youths who receive professional qualification or certification of their skills; and

• the number of government-run shelters established for victims of violence

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

Human-capital development is vital to any sustainable transformation of our at-risk communities. It is heartening to see that the training offerings, which are specific to our young males, such as those offered by the Caribbean Military Technical Training Institute (CMTTI), are already showing extremely rapid take-up by young men in the critical age groups. The training offerings of articulated vehicle operation and construction are an easy diversion away from the gangs, for young males, as the youths often say, “Boss, mi wi lock the gun if mi can learn to drive the big trailer cause mi can mek good money deh suh”. At the end of the training with the CMTTI, we can assure the country that we have almost a new man – one who is disciplined and skilled.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

As the police remove the gangs from these communities, the environment will be created for the social agencies to operate freely and optimise the spending on social investment. The physical work being done by the JSIF along with the well-coordinated social activities will ensure community transformation and sustainable change in behaviour in the medium to long term.

The police will indeed serve and protect these communities, with the Community Safety and Security Branch (CSSB) ensuring that all the social services and social activities are in full operation.

The objective of our repositioned social-investment policy is to channel funding through the government institutions, supported by private sector and international partners, with community involvement and ownership so that we will have a strong community in a healthy and safe environment.

This outline of our social-investment policy highlights the nature of our intervention in these challenged communities.

It further demonstrates, without question, the high level of coordination and the high priority that the Government places on the effective expenditure of social- investment funds.

We commend our partners that have come on board, and we know that we will see the difference emerge. It is early days yet, but I am confident that we are on a path for sustainable change and transformation.

- Dr Horace Chang is Jamaica’s deputy prime minister, minister of national security, and member of parliament for North West St James. Send feedback to securityminister@mns.gov.jm