Opposition senator makes crime-fighting recommendations

Opposition Senator Lambert Brown yesterday made some suggestions as to how the Government could tackle the serious crime wave impacting the country.

The following are his recommendations:

- Remotivate the police. The Cabinet should urgently agree to undertake the payment of the legal expenses of members of the security forces arising from confrontation with criminal elements.

- Take back our communities from the domination of the criminals by building partnerships between the State, private sector, churches, civil society and the communities.

- Rigorously implement the anti-gang law and set targets for the dismantling of the gangs. Establish a registry of all gangs and their members.

- Consideration should be given to dedicate courts facilities with appropriate resources, including additional judges, prosecutors and legal support for investigators, to allow for fast-tracking cases involving gang activities. Call it an anti-gang court if you wish.

- Establishment of a standing parliamentary committee dedicated to crime reduction. This will focus the country's attention on solutions to our crime problem; hopefully show that the anti-crime efforts are bipartisan, and direct the attention of all our leaders to a major obstacle to economic growth and development.

- Focus our police service on the outcome of increasing conviction rates of guilty criminals through improved investigatory techniques including the use of science and technology.

- Re-establish, through the Partnership for Jamaica, the Justice and Crime Committee which existed before February last year. This was designed to play a similar role as Economic Programme Oversight Committee, Electricity Sector Enterprise Team and now the Economic Growth Council. It was a formula that worked.