Start TV programme to catch criminals
Published:Saturday | January 18, 2025 | 12:06 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
A crime programme is badly needed on local Jamaican television. Such a programme can be geared at highlighting local crimes and, in particular, murders. The programme can be hosted by a criminologist or detective. The objective will be to highlight homicides, open the phone lines for information, and offer rewards for critical information.
In Trinidad and Tobago, CrimeWatch is a local programme hosted by Ian Alleyne. In that programme, the host at times speaks to suspects of the crimes he highlights. Alleyne subsequently passes the information to the police. Similarly, in the United States, CrimeStoppers is a popular programme.
In Jamaica, a more comprehensive and compelling programme is needed which can be aired weekly for one hour and would be presented in an attractive format which grabs the attention of the public. It should be able to motivate members of the public to say what they know in a manner which protects their identity and which garners the opinions of the public.
Such a television programme will likely benefit the country by demotivating criminals and, in some cases injecting real and ongoing fear into them. This would be possible if this proposed programme has positive impact of leading to the arrests and subsequent convictions of criminals.
Crime is like a product in the local marketplace. Sometimes sales are up and at other times sales decline. The more a commodity is exposed, the more aware the public will become of it. The more the demand for a product falls, the more likely production of that product will decrease and eventually be pulled out of the marketplace.
PATRICK GALLIMORE