Talkback Thursday

Nearly 1,300 murders were committed up to October 29. That is 92 more than the corresponding period in 2021. What are your thoughts on the continued rise in crime?

“Someone once said that self-governance is better than good governance. Jamaica has exposed that fallacy.”

– @BinnyJetsYaad

“PM and Chang must go!”

– @theresemandoza

“England needs to take action with sanctions against Jamaica, as they have done in other war-torn countries.”

– @northamerican2005

“Migration to another country.”

– @yankibritish_fnf

“I think we need some tough laws. I don’t understand why Jamaica is not trying to copy places like Singapore. Second, we need a huge change in attitude towards crime. I think kids, from [they’re] young, need to be hugged and shown ways of resolving disputes without violence. Also, we need a major cleaning out of the JCF and some political figures; people need to be held accountable.”

– @realyardie22

“It is heartbreaking to see the level of crime. Wise up and stop killing your brothers and sisters.”

– @simbeauri

“Jamaica needs a restart. New and trustworthy government officials with a sensible crime-reduction plan, hold corrupt officials accountable, implement proper trade schools to boost employment, stimulate the economy by producing and selling local. Just a complete overhaul at this point!”

– @chippy_momma

“How can the Government solve the country’s crime problem, so that we can sleep with our doors open, if the crux of the matter is taking place behind closed doors. How many of those 1,300 murders were committed by family or friends of the victims? This is no longer a problem for the Government to solve. We have to start looking at ourselves and the people we associate with. We have to start learning conflict resolution and how to exercise sound judgement. Since when did we get so soft and weak and so sensitive that as a person says or does something we don’t like, we get so emotionally disturbed and unstable that we can justify in our mind that the person deserves to die? What happen to ‘sticks and stones will break my bones, but your words will never harm me’? We cya run joke with nobody no more or even be honest with nobody or dis nobody, because the reality of the situation is, nuff people a dead because of that and these realities cannot be ignored.”

– @firstladykp

“Martial law with random search of persons and homes. Anyone found with illegal gun gets 15 years minimum.”

– @real__876

“Strict laws are needed to keep lives safe. Jamaica needs to add the death penalty to the law.” – @jaywong854

“We are not safe in our own country. I feel as if the security minister is not doing enough. The crime is completely out of control and no one seems to care. Every day someone dies and it’s just horrible. The love, unity and peace are all gone.”

– Kereen Love

“Every stone should be turned. Every public safety plan should be on the table. Crime reduction must be part of the equation for the country. There is also a clear economic factor (up or down), depending on how we go about trying to combat this blithe.”

– Kevin Barrett

Responses are from The Gleaner’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages.