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Growing soft on crime
published: Tuesday | February 13, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody YsFrO="true">
Dennie Quill, Contributor
Everybody is concerned about spiralling crime and violence in our society, yet we continue to be soft on anti-social behaviour including littering, noise nuisance, illegal drug use and traffic violations.
Take ganja-smoking. Many years ago, I attended an oldies session at the Countryside Club in Half-Way Tree area. In between the nostalgic music, I heard a vendor calling out "high grade" as he wended his way through the crowd with a string of little plastic bags.
My curiosity got the better of me and after making some enquiries, I found out that each of those little bags contained ganja. This vendor was so barefaced that he was peddling the illegal drug among thousands of persons. He felt confident that no police officer would challenge him, as he was deeply embedded in this 'feel good' environment where open drug peddling was accepted. Some persons commented on the enterprising nature of this vendor. Others gave a shrug or a laugh. It was really no big thing.
Then at the recently concluded Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, I am told that the air was filled with the pungent scent of ganja. And policemen were on the grounds in their numbers, but they were more concerned with the fact that vendors were selling chairs and mats in a no-vending area. These days, one is not even allowed to smoke a cigarette in a public gathering, so it is understandable that many patrons at the concert were disgusted by this behaviour, but instead of public outrage, there was silent resignation.
But the last place one expects to hear that ganja is being smoked is in the precincts of a courthouse, the Supreme Court no less. A report in this newspaper tells of prisoners smoking ganja in their holding cells. The policemen in charge of the prisoners should be asked to give an account, for this could only happen with their tacit approval. The police have the power to deal with anti-social behaviour, but for whatever reason, many have adopted a soft, lenient approach. So, instead of action, there is silent resignation.
Paying a high price
There are many people who have experimented with marijuana and some have declared that it has had no effect on them. And even though it has been legalised in parts of the world for medicinal purposes, it is known to have negative conse-quences and is a gateway drug. The reality is that scores of Jamaican families are in agony today because their loved ones inhaled that one spliff that facilitated a graduation to other more potent drugs like cocaine and heroine. The use and access to ganja has ruined their lives.
Jamaica is paying a high price because of its overall crime rate. The Planning Institute of Jamaica would do a service to the country by conducting a study to indicate the impact of crime and violence on our economy. How much more could be added to the country's growth rate if more people in society had respect for law and order and decided to abide by the rule of law? And how many more jobs could have been added if we could achieve that elusive growth? Jamaica's economic health depends on a thriving economy. But crime and violence has become such an immense drag on the nation.
Scores of Jamaicans living overseas want to invest their money in their homeland, but many maintain that until we fix the law and order problem, Jamaica will continue to be a nice place to visit, but not one in which they want to live. As we prepare to welcome thousands of visitors to our shores next month, we do so against a background of an alarming epidemic of murder and crime that is being witnessed from Negril to Morant Point.
For all the tough talk by the Minister of National Security, the public
published: Tuesday | February 13, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody YsFrO="true">
Dennie Quill, Contributor
Everybody is concerned about spiralling crime and violence in our society, yet we continue to be soft on anti-social behaviour including littering, noise nuisance, illegal drug use and traffic violations.
Take ganja-smoking. Many years ago, I attended an oldies session at the Countryside Club in Half-Way Tree area. In between the nostalgic music, I heard a vendor calling out "high grade" as he wended his way through the crowd with a string of little plastic bags.
My curiosity got the better of me and after making some enquiries, I found out that each of those little bags contained ganja. This vendor was so barefaced that he was peddling the illegal drug among thousands of persons. He felt confident that no police officer would challenge him, as he was deeply embedded in this 'feel good' environment where open drug peddling was accepted. Some persons commented on the enterprising nature of this vendor. Others gave a shrug or a laugh. It was really no big thing.
Then at the recently concluded Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, I am told that the air was filled with the pungent scent of ganja. And policemen were on the grounds in their numbers, but they were more concerned with the fact that vendors were selling chairs and mats in a no-vending area. These days, one is not even allowed to smoke a cigarette in a public gathering, so it is understandable that many patrons at the concert were disgusted by this behaviour, but instead of public outrage, there was silent resignation.
But the last place one expects to hear that ganja is being smoked is in the precincts of a courthouse, the Supreme Court no less. A report in this newspaper tells of prisoners smoking ganja in their holding cells. The policemen in charge of the prisoners should be asked to give an account, for this could only happen with their tacit approval. The police have the power to deal with anti-social behaviour, but for whatever reason, many have adopted a soft, lenient approach. So, instead of action, there is silent resignation.
Paying a high price
There are many people who have experimented with marijuana and some have declared that it has had no effect on them. And even though it has been legalised in parts of the world for medicinal purposes, it is known to have negative conse-quences and is a gateway drug. The reality is that scores of Jamaican families are in agony today because their loved ones inhaled that one spliff that facilitated a graduation to other more potent drugs like cocaine and heroine. The use and access to ganja has ruined their lives.
Jamaica is paying a high price because of its overall crime rate. The Planning Institute of Jamaica would do a service to the country by conducting a study to indicate the impact of crime and violence on our economy. How much more could be added to the country's growth rate if more people in society had respect for law and order and decided to abide by the rule of law? And how many more jobs could have been added if we could achieve that elusive growth? Jamaica's economic health depends on a thriving economy. But crime and violence has become such an immense drag on the nation.
Scores of Jamaicans living overseas want to invest their money in their homeland, but many maintain that until we fix the law and order problem, Jamaica will continue to be a nice place to visit, but not one in which they want to live. As we prepare to welcome thousands of visitors to our shores next month, we do so against a background of an alarming epidemic of murder and crime that is being witnessed from Negril to Morant Point.
For all the tough talk by the Minister of National Security, the public