'12 Killed in a Day'

That was the headline on the Gleaner front page of September 15, 2005. Certainly that story will remain etched in the minds of many Jamaicans for some time. Police records now indicate that someone is murdered in this country every six hours and that over 1,670 murders have been committed in 2005. There is also seemingly marked increases in carjackings, brazen shootings, stabbings and even ransom-oriented kidnappings.

In all this mayhem one seriously wonders where this country is going. Though one cannot reasonably allocate all blame to the Minister of National Security Dr. Peter Phillips, he still bears a significant amount of responsibility. Notwithstanding the launch of much vaunted initiatives like Operation Kingfish, the media savvy Minister has failed to stymie the crime scourge annihilating our country. Excellent yet deceptive PR is skillfully veiling his poor performance.

In regards to short-term measures, there is a need for an immediate assessment or reassessment of the role of the Jamaica Defence Force; the members of the JDF should after appropriate retraining become more integrated into the crime fighting process. The competence levels of our senior police officers and the structure of the Jamaica Constabulary Force should also be assessed. Most Jamaicans have lost all confidence in the capabilities of the JCF. Though they suffer from a severe and impairing resource shortage, far too many criminals are just slipping through. The acute levels of corruption are also suppressing the publics’ confidence in the Force.

Finally, the government must accept and acknowledge the fact that it was under their watch that Jamaica is this year on track to becoming the most murderous country on earth. They must also acknowledge that there is a rapidly continuing collapse of law and order across our beloved nation. It is in the nations interest for the ruling administration to take deep-seated measures, without the abrogation of basic human rights, to hopefully stem a grave crime dilemma.