Tivoli operation was long overdue

THE EDITOR, Sir:

JAMAICA'S LARGEST crime problem can be attributed to many things, the greatest of which is our hypocrisy. To hear people talk from both sides of their mouth in the media is frightful.

We are all aware that boys ranging from the ages of 12-17 are the most fearsome lot of all bad men; they show no remorse, cannot be restrained, need to prove themselves and are generally just plain merciless for the simple reason that they are trying to outdo those before them. Then why is it that when they are shot we assume that what they had in their hands were toy guns or slingshots?

What happened last week in Tivoli Gardens should have been done a long time ago and not there alone. It is my belief that government on both political sides were playing with this monster - to the extent that the monster thought it could outdo the state. The show of military might shocked us all and sent bad men scurrying for cover and protection at the call of the peace officers.

We must admit that despite the fact that this flexing of security muscle was an internationally forced one, as Bruce Golding would not have acted the way he did, the People's National Party (PNP) has always been very soft on crime. In an effort to show love for people and country, they allowed criminality to get out of hand. It is also noted that under the PNP, while Jamaicans for Justice and other support groups soft on crime were adhered to, this Government appears to be listening to the needs of the people.

Reality check

It could be that the PNP has too many lawyers or academics in the party whose head-in-the-air approach cannot help us now; we need reality checks; anything else is unacceptable and most of the blame relating to crime getting out of hand can be laid at the PNP's feet.

Even though I want the Jamaica Labour Party government gone, my fear is a return of the PNP, whose stance on crime appears to be facilitative.

I am, etc;

J.M. Fletcher

Irish Town