Dear Editor,

The late journalist and talk show host Wilmot "Motty" Perkins used to say, if thieves could make laws, stealing would be legal. In the Jamaica that I grew up not so long ago, many of us studied using, "Home Sweet Home" lamps, throughout high school and college.

Stealing electricity was was not only too dangerous but also too risky, if you are poor and want to add a criminal record on top of that. But laws are made to be broken, and who better to break laws than those who make them.

John Wayne, the famous American actor, once said that everywhere he went he found God's presence, followed by the law. Without the law, we are no better than our ancestors who lived in caves.

Marlene Malahoo-Forte recently asked, how can Members of Parliament visit their constituencies in which persons are stealing light and water and turn a blind eye? One of the main duties of Members of Parliament is the making of laws. Enforcing laws is another matter.

Marlene Malahoo-Forte recently asked, how can Members of Parliament visit their constituencies in which persons are stealing light and water and turn a blind eye? One of the main duties of Members of Parliament is the making of laws. Enforcing laws is another matter.

Nowadays, lottery scammers are deemed to be extracting reparations on behalf of all of us, because our ancestors suffered during slavery. The man with the plasma television sent to him from foreign, may not be able to afford electricity, and so, stealing electricity is obligatory. If there is a dance, the Jamaica Public Service Company becomes part of the income, not the expense.

In this impoverished country where, "more man have more cars, more man have more phones and more man have more gal," stealing is inevitable. We cannot afford gas, there is a new tax on phones and more gal have more man.

A few weeks ago in Mandeville, a man with a gun held up another man. He demanded money, but the hapless victim said that he was broke. The gunman proceeded to search his victim and found cash in his socks. The gunman then angrily retorted, 'how you so lie? How you say you broke'?

Nowadays, the police have a hard task when they come upon a crime scene. It is difficult to distinguish who is criminal from who is innocent. Sometimes they find that there are wolves in sheep's clothing.

Jamaica is fast becoming a country of lawyers, not laws. Yes we make laws, but we seem to be playing catch-up with the criminals. We are at the mercy of criminals. They strike in broad daylight ... no longer are gunmen confined to committing their dark deeds under the cover of darkness. The law indeed is not a shackle.

Mark Clarke

Siloah, St Elizabeth