Online feedback

Below are edited excerpts from comments posted by readers online@www.jamaica-gleaner.com reacting to yesterday's lead story 'Dog-hearted. Cops hunt Dog Paw; triple murder draws anger'.

Fight fire with fire

What does it say about our country when an 'army' of 30 to 40 men can invade a community and commit such cowardly acts with impunity and are able to make their escape without a single member of the group being killed or captured? What does it say about the capability of our security forces?

To add insult to injury, the police are asking a subset of the group to turn themselves in. Maybe the police need to start the process rolling by hunting down these savages and saving us the expense of a trial. I'm a big supporter of the police, but they are getting lazier by the minute! Get off your butts and go out and find these thugs and do the right thing. Enough is enough!

Incidences likes these suggest the need for an eradication squad that will be able to respond quickly to such incidences, be able to saturate the area, cordon off the entire community/area, preventing anyone from exiting. Then go in on a seek-and-destroy mission to flush out these perpetrators. We have to start fighting fire with fire.

- ProdigalSon

It is said almost 40 heavily armed gunmen escaped after engaging lawmen in a shoot-out for half an hour. Forty gunmen, and all of them escaped! This shows me that the security forces are still not properly equipped to handle these unexpected situations.

The police force must have helicopters on standby at all times. I think the Government must seek outside help to take back the country.

- Dego Emerald

Reimpose state of emergency

The outraged citizens of Jamaica speak.

I am against the killing of anyone. However, I don't think this is a matter for the Church or the army. The Church has moved away from calling on God for justice and is now commanding the Government to resort to the same barbarism that we are faced with from the hoodlums, while the common citizens call for a military incursion.

At the rate of things in Jamaica, the hauling out of the military and the draconian laws of Jamaica won't help to heal the situation at all, unless allied in an extended state of emergency - one that is not only designed to confront crimes, but to also focus on economical growth and stern enforcement of educational policies.

If you pray for rain, expect the flood. I think an overall, extended state of emergency for five years will make a significant difference in the way we conduct ourselves in Jamaica.

- David Gentles