Crime fighting demands real strategies not SOEs - Jackson

Opposition Spokesperson on National Security Fitz Jackson says the declaration of a State of Public Emergency in Clarendon and St Catherine again underscores that the government has no solution to combat the country’s crime problem.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the enhance security measure this morning, stating that it will last initially for 14 days.

READ: Why the gov't declared a SOE 

This is the third State of Public Emergency to be announced in the past six months.

In a statement this afternoon, Jackson argued that wanton criminality has taken hold of sections of the country.

He contended that more concrete steps need to be implemented to tackle the issue.

He further argued that police statistics, especially in areas where the SOE is already in operation, show that the emergency response apparatus is not a crime-fighting mechanism.

According to Jackson, in some of these areas, residents are losing confidence in the effectiveness of the SOEs.

“It cannot be that the government continues to turn a blind eye and allow things to fall into a deeper crisis, and then the SOE is declared. We cannot deal with the matter of national security in this way.” Jackson said.

“The police need to be properly outfitted with modern investigations tools and the appropriate vehicles,” Jackson added.

Full Statement

Shadow Minister of National Security Fitz Jackson M.P. says the declaration of a State of Emergency (SOE) in Clarendon and St Catherine again underscores the fact that Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his government have no solution to the wanton criminality that has taken hold of sections of the country.

Mr Jackson said the JCF murder statistics, especially in areas where the SOE is already in operation show that this emergency response apparatus is not a crime fighting mechanism. He noted that in some of these areas, citizens are losing confidence in the effectiveness of the SOEs.

Furthermore, Mr Jackson said Clarendon has been experiencing a high crime rate for a long time, and at this stage it should be clear who are the main crime producers and a strategic plan to bring them to justice should have been in place.

“It cannot be that the government continues to turn a blind eye and allow things to fall into a deeper crisis, and then the SOE is declared. We cannot deal with the matter of national security in this way,” Mr Jackson said.

The murder rate in both Clarendon and St Catherine police divisions has been very high since last year, yet no effective interventions were made by the government.

In St Catherine, 16 persons were murdered each month last year, while 19 persons are being murdered each month so far this year.

In Clarendon, 11 persons were murdered each month last year, while just under 13 persons are being murdered each month so far this year.

He said there needs to be a proper and effective system of investigations and targeted approach to crime fighting.

“The police need to be properly outfitted with modern investigations tools and the appropriate vehicles to give them access to the communities,” Mr Jackson said.

He added that without adequate social programmes in critical areas, some persons who are marginalised and vulnerable will continue to become easy pickings for hardened criminals who are seeking to control turf and individuals and wreak havoc on communities.

The Shadow Minister said the report from the recent summit on crime and violence prevention hosted by the Opposition is now ready and will be distributed to all 40 groups that participated in the discussions.

“Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte represented the Prime Minister and participated in those talks, she too will have access to the report, so our hope is that some of the ideas that were discussed will be taken on board so that we can begin to see real change in affected communities,” Mr Jackson said.

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