Fri | Mar 29, 2024

Take Jamaica out of poverty to stem crime

Published:Monday | January 18, 2021 | 12:09 AM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Recently, Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said governments, past and present, are complicit in keeping inner-city residents in poverty. Like that was news! However, it was good to get confirmation from the horse’s mouth. Again, all the ills perpetuated year by year within the Jamaican consciousness from that systemic oppression have taken toll, especially on that same portfolio, which gets blamed for its inability to control crime.

There was a case of a grandmother and her grandchildren being shot dead. Why? Despite making the news, Dennis Brooks was up in arms over the lack of public outcry at this all-too-frequent occurrence – families being targeted for their relatives’ dealings. I wonder who would the public complain to, or what could they do? What good would it do? Except say you can be a victim of something yuh nuh know ‘bout, or crime still is alive and well inna Jumieka. There wasn’t anyone literally to hold responsible – although I am sure the community know ‘whodunit’. Not trying to be cruel, but this sad state of affairs has been going on for a long time, and mostly because there is a dearth of leadership.

If Jamaica really wanted to see the murder rate come down, we should have started taking measures from a long time ago. Crime and reprisal are ingrained in our society and we are going to see more, unless the people really get awakened. We can’t rely on or blame politicians alone anymore; we are the ones suffering and should take responsible for our lives and safety. Hashtags and social media campaigns may not help to stop killings or find criminals.

A lot more crime is taking place, but we don’t hear about it.

Requesting the public to report crime does not get the desired results because of various reasons. Being vocal about atrocities doesn’t resolve anything except if those responsible are not charged and the crime is not coming down.

The Government is responsible for its citizens’ security and should take it seriously. The security forces are defenceless; hindered by corruption, mistrust, and inefficient operations. This admission sums up why crime continues to grow.

COLETTE CAMPBELL