We have yet another bloody weekend to remind us that last week's drama and excitement about the crime wave has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the gunmen among us.

The fancy footwork that took place behind closed doors over the resignation and change of mind by Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin has clearly not impressed the killers who have sent another message that they are still in charge.

Murders have topped the 700 mark, and at this rate, could be well over 1,400 deaths by the end of the year. If we take Admiral Lewin by his word, it is then that we should be assessing his performance.

We desperately hope that by then he would have come up with something to stop the criminals in their tracks. No society can expect to be viable with this level of killings.

If we needed outside sources to convince us of the seriousness of our situation, then we point to the call on us by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to control the heavy inflow of guns.

"UNDP and UNICEF express deep concern for the effect of the spiralling murder rate on children and their communities, and ultimately the country's economic development," the UN agencies said in a statement.
This is indeed sobering.

We continue to state our deep and abiding interest in getting a handle on the spiralling crime rate, even if those who have no problems with playing with people's lives misconstrue our intentions. We will not remain silent while our people continue to pay with their lives for the lack of serious action to staunch the wanton bloodletting in our country. The majority of Jamaicans cannot flee to safer shores and must daily and nightly face the terror.

For the record, we view Admiral Lewin as someone who is well intentioned and we bear him no personal grudge. However, despite our call for his resignation, we are not clear as to why he decided to do so last week, or as to the reason he allowed himself to be persuaded to change his mind.

The group of shadowy persons who coalesced to secure the withdrawal of his resignation have not shown their faces to the nation, nor has Admiral Lewin's explanation been forthcoming.

We get the chilling impression that these people are playing with the nation's security and so we will continue to be vigilant, as a responsible newspaper sworn to look out for the best interest of our people.

For that same reason, we reject the cynical view that the police force is not to be held responsible for crime-fighting. It is obvious that governments must establish the policy framework within which the police force operates. But running down the criminals is the work of the police force, or we do not need one.

What we certainly do not need is a prime minister interfering in the operation of the police force, as suggested by an ill-informed editorial elsewhere. Surely, we know well the danger of that. The same ones who today make that suggestion will be the first to shout 'political victimisation' when it happens. Mr Golding would be ill-advised to accept such nonsense.

Let us as a country rally behind the police commissioner and the minister of national security, in whom we have a lot of faith based on his previous tenure as top cop.

But we hold that the failure of Admiral Lewin is not unlike that of a surgeon operating on an individual. His mistakes could be fatal. That knowledge is what keeps us wide awake on this crime issue.

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