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The lesson from Gobay - crush the criminals now
Monday, December 24, 2007
No one will disagree, we are sure, that the fight against crime must of necessity be multi-faceted.
For that reason, we wholeheartedly support the calls for social intervention to arrest the cycle of impoverishment, deprivation and ignorance that inevitably breed crime in so many of our urban and rural communities.
It should be clear to all of us now, that assertive action by government and civil society, through a range of activities to lift the economic base and the values and attitudes of individuals and communities, is essential if we are to not be overrun by criminals.
But the nature of criminals being what it is, it seems to us that it is absolutely vital that we all remember that this has to be just part of the mix of anti-crime measures. And, that the benefits from social intervention are more likely to reap reward over the longer term than otherwise.
While the seeds of social intervention are germinating, it is critical that the sense of well-being of the society be kept secure. The very social programmes we speak of must be financed by economic growth which is difficult to foster in an environment of rampant criminality.
So in the meantime and in the short term, the society must find a way to stop the evil ones who are raining terror on communities such as Gobay, St Catherine as highlighted in yesterday's Sunday Observer.
That a few criminals - drunk with their capacity to terrorise - have brought an entire rural farming community to a standstill, with even the school being closed as a result, should leave all of us hanging our heads in shame.
But most of all it seems to us that the Government and the High Command of the police have much to answer for.
Note the comment of a policeman at the Riversdale Police Station in St Catherine as he recounted how the job of policing had been made more difficult because of decisions from above. He complained that the authorities had closed down the Troja police station and proceeded to give the Riversdale police more responsibility without the requisite additional resources.
"They closed the station and gave us all these additional communities to police, yet they haven't given us more resources to do so," the policeman is reported as having said.
It goes to the very heart of much that has gone wrong with Jamaica's anti-crime fight. Even as crime has surged over the years, the authorities have not seen fit to match the surge with the necessary resources. The former national security minister, Peter Phillips, has himself made the very point in an honest and thoughtful critique of the inadequacy of successive governments in dealing with crime.
It is reflective of the reality that while we all 'talk the good talk' about crime being our number one problem, we have never as a society been prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.
Crucially it seems to us, it is time our leaders begin to confront crime with the requisite political will. Too many of our urban and rural communities - Gobay being just the latest example - have been under the heel of terrorists for too long with the authorities and the rest of us just standing by.
We have said it before, we say it again, we have to act. Now.
Monday, December 24, 2007
No one will disagree, we are sure, that the fight against crime must of necessity be multi-faceted.
For that reason, we wholeheartedly support the calls for social intervention to arrest the cycle of impoverishment, deprivation and ignorance that inevitably breed crime in so many of our urban and rural communities.
It should be clear to all of us now, that assertive action by government and civil society, through a range of activities to lift the economic base and the values and attitudes of individuals and communities, is essential if we are to not be overrun by criminals.
But the nature of criminals being what it is, it seems to us that it is absolutely vital that we all remember that this has to be just part of the mix of anti-crime measures. And, that the benefits from social intervention are more likely to reap reward over the longer term than otherwise.
While the seeds of social intervention are germinating, it is critical that the sense of well-being of the society be kept secure. The very social programmes we speak of must be financed by economic growth which is difficult to foster in an environment of rampant criminality.
So in the meantime and in the short term, the society must find a way to stop the evil ones who are raining terror on communities such as Gobay, St Catherine as highlighted in yesterday's Sunday Observer.
That a few criminals - drunk with their capacity to terrorise - have brought an entire rural farming community to a standstill, with even the school being closed as a result, should leave all of us hanging our heads in shame.
But most of all it seems to us that the Government and the High Command of the police have much to answer for.
Note the comment of a policeman at the Riversdale Police Station in St Catherine as he recounted how the job of policing had been made more difficult because of decisions from above. He complained that the authorities had closed down the Troja police station and proceeded to give the Riversdale police more responsibility without the requisite additional resources.
"They closed the station and gave us all these additional communities to police, yet they haven't given us more resources to do so," the policeman is reported as having said.
It goes to the very heart of much that has gone wrong with Jamaica's anti-crime fight. Even as crime has surged over the years, the authorities have not seen fit to match the surge with the necessary resources. The former national security minister, Peter Phillips, has himself made the very point in an honest and thoughtful critique of the inadequacy of successive governments in dealing with crime.
It is reflective of the reality that while we all 'talk the good talk' about crime being our number one problem, we have never as a society been prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.
Crucially it seems to us, it is time our leaders begin to confront crime with the requisite political will. Too many of our urban and rural communities - Gobay being just the latest example - have been under the heel of terrorists for too long with the authorities and the rest of us just standing by.
We have said it before, we say it again, we have to act. Now.