EDITORIAL - Where are the big crime-fighting ideas?

It is rather naïve of the police to pat themselves on the back for killing a few members of a Westmoreland gang and to suggest that they have broken the back of the crime monster in western Jamaica. There is anecdotal evidence that slain gang members are quickly replaced by able lieutenants who often prove to be even more ruthless than their predecessors.

The shoot-to-kill method has been tried over and over as the island's security forces seek to combat violent crime, and the result is that the violence rooted in gang activities has grown measurably worse over the last few years.

Murder figures continue to be above 1,000 each year, and the gang culture continues to flourish across the length and breadth of this country, creating havoc for ordinary citizens.

We submit that killing a few gang members cannot be the centrepiece of any anti-crime strategy. National Security Minister Peter Bunting signalled that he was all out of ideas to fight crime when he declared sometime ago that the country needed "divine intervention". With the country in the grip of a crime crisis, national security is one of the most important portfolios in the Cabinet, and if the minister is unable to effectively lead that ministry, then he should step aside. Although citizens have a part to play in helping to keep their neighbourhoods safe, it can't be that the country looks to the religious community for the next big idea to make Jamaicans less violent and the country a safer place in which to live and work.

START TACKLING SMALL CRIMES

A key element of any crime-fighting strategy must be a focus on traffic violations. The departure of the tough-talking Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis appears to have left a void in that area. Motorists continue to commit traffic violations with impunity, sometimes within sight of police officers who appear to turn a blind eye. Talk of zero tolerance has no meaning if there is no system of stringent traffic enforcement to act as a deterrent to lawbreakers. It has been proven repeatedly that successful anti-crime strategies start with tackling and showing intolerance for soft crimes such as littering and traffic violations, petty theft, trespassing, and other non-violent offences.

The truth, though, is that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller needs to show better leadership on the crime front. Surely, she cannot be satisfied with the fact that under her watch, Jamaica remains less safe than when she took office in 2011. The country needs to know that Mrs Simpson Miller is as concerned as everyone else is about the crime scourge and that she aims to put some muscle into the solution.

The Government needs to design an aggressive anti-crime strategy that will make Jamaica a safer place in 2014. The new measures must tackle the root causes of crime. It begins with convincing youth and gang sympathisers that there is an alternative to a life of crime and should include a job/skills-training component. If that does not work, then the system of punishment must be reviewed to ensure that the worst offenders are put away for a very long time.

To fight career criminals, the police also need to be better equipped, mentally and physically, so they can do a more effective job at crime prevention and crime intervention.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.