EDITORIAL - Invigorated community groups give hope

Frustration was etched on the face of Police Commissioner Owen Ellington as he visited a crime scene in downtown Kingston on Thursday, where a wholesaler had been shot by thugs. Speaking amid the chaotic mix of vendors, unsightly stalls and garbage, the commissioner cited the difficulties encountered in policing the crime-weary commercial centre of the capital.

He suggested an urgent need for order in the way vending is conducted in downtown Kingston. He commented on the infrastructure of the area, pointing to the ill-defined physical layout and congestion which impede the police while on patrol or while attempting to apprehend criminals.

Illegal trade and the rise of the informal sector have made urban areas magnets for criminals and a challenge for law enforcement. Now, with the Christmas season approaching, we expect that the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will roll out an innovative package of new measures which may include restricting vehicular traffic and establishing secure car parks, making it easier for shoppers to do business and vendors to ply their trade in the lanes and alleys that have become part of the shopping district.

The police and the KSAC and allied agencies must work together to develop proactive strategies that will help to prevent and control crime in downtown Kingston. The police have to be responsive and efficient in carrying out their duties, and they ought to be given all the necessary tools and assistance to do this job if we are to preserve downtown Kingston as a safe shopping area. Without such measures, civility and good order will be absent from the area and policing will continue to be a nightmare. Shoppers may be forced to do business elsewhere.

Encouraging decrease

The decrease in crime over the past few months has been encouraging, although the criminals continue to remind us from time to time that their firepower remains largely intact and they can create mayhem in a community by lying in wait at someone's gate and spraying them with bullets, as happened in Harbour View earlier this week.

Even though we welcome the decline in crime, we are fully aware that the structural problems of the police and the judiciary continue to fuel some violence and create animosity between the State and communities. Clearly, the means of overcoming violence lies within the communities themselves. It is against this background that we welcome what appears to be an invigoration of civic groups, including the Jamaica Foundation for Community Development (JFCD).

We urge support for their first event, which is a bicycle race titled 'Pu dung di gun', which is set to kick off on Sunday with some 50 amateur and professional riders expected to participate.

The organisers say they want to empower inner-city youth to change their mindset and behaviour. This will certainly go a far way in boosting the self-esteem of participants.

Looking ahead, however, groups like the JFCD can only make a positive impact when they match social projects with job and educational opportunities so the youth can gain employment. For it is by equipping themselves for a job that they can turn their backs on crime and break the culture of crime and violence.

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