We need to collectively fight crime

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Precious little can be said about the crime situation ravaging our country, except another heartfelt plea to the citizens, those who know intimately the ones who are paying misguided and, in many cases, unloved youth to end the life of others.

It is hard to comprehend that we as a people, blessed with goodness and with a history for being warm and accepting of foreigners, can be so cold and callous against their own; and it leaves one to wonder, how is that possible? The Jamaica that we know and love is seemingly no more; all because of the hate and lust for ill-gotten gains, and the taste for blood.

Billions of dollars have been spent on upgrading the police infrastructure across the country. However, the fear is that this significant investment, paid for by hard-working peoples’ tax dollars, will come to naught if we remain set on murdering everyone around us.

While the police have ramped up its investigative capacity and have shown in the recent past to be a lot more agile and adept at stopping criminals from escaping established dragnets, the renewed, motivated officers’ attempt to snap the outlandish murder rate pales in comparison with the level of crime that’s being perpetrated by these misguided young men and women, with increased frequency, upon the society.

Every single so-called don and gunman have family members whom they love. They have children attending schools with children of the victim they just murdered. Their mother or father attend church with the parents of the victim whose blood now drench the earth and stain their hands. In fact, many live within the same community, facing the same economic and social challenges, yet they despise their neighbour, oftentime for no serious reason. They are known.

Jamaica, now 59 years independent, deserves a lot more than just worldwide recognition as a murder capital. Our phenomenal exploits in the field of music, sports, medicine, academia and the arts show what we are capable of. I am urging all of us to think hard and long on what legacy we are bequeathing to our children. Hate, badmind, distrust and murder are nothing good for them.

The Government, even with all the investment in the national security apparatus, cannot solve the crime problem on its own. Civil society, including the Church, have a vital role to play, but I believe it’s at the micro level, the family unit, where the ‘Liv Gud’ message must be felt and understood.

PAUL CLARKE

Communications Adviser

Ministry of National Security