KIDD-DEANS... law-abiding Jamaicans should be given the opportunity to become frontline soldiers in their own defence

JAMAICANS need more than burglar bars, overworked cops, private guards and a less than efficient 119 emergency response number to protect themselves from criminals.
They need guns.

This latest call for the arming of all members of the public who qualify for firearm licences and who want and can afford the weapons, was made yesterday by Senator Prudence Kidd-Deans during the State-of-the-Nation Debate.

She made the call against the background of Jamaica's worsening crime rate, noting that just when it was believed that crime had peaked, "this monster ... ascends to a higher level at the next wave".

According to the senator, so great is the need for firearm licences in Jamaica to protect person, family and property, that more than 4,000 people applied for such licences in 2005.

"I recommend, therefore," Kidd-Deans said, "that every level of bureaucracy be removed to facilitate the application of every decent, law-abiding Jamaican who has applied, and who fit the criteria for a firearm licence (and that such a person) be granted one unhesitatingly and expeditiously (so) that such a person can become a frontline soldier in his or her defence."

Kidd-Deans, who was delivering her maiden speech in the Senate conceded that possession of a licensed firearm would not stop the holder from being attacked, but argued that it would be "an essential deterrent to that possibility". Criminals would be less likely to pounce on potential victims, if they felt those persons were armed, she said.

Besides, Kidd-Deans said, she was willing to take a guess that 75 per cent of Jamaica's legislators on both sides of the political divide were licensed firearm holders. Further, she noted that those who qualified were provided with security personnel. She contrasted that situation with other Jamaicans who "must abide by the rules of the state and at the same time tremble with fear at the possibility of the gunman's bullet."

In fact, Kidd-Deans told the Senate that a "new breed of crime" has reared "its ugly head" upon Jamaica.

"No longer are we the victims of (mere) pickpockets, and petty thieves, but (have become) lambs to the slaughter by the demonic nature of a new breed of criminals who do not only crave our possessions, but our lives, and at the quickest opportunity, snuff the breath from our bodies with a special taste bud for women and children".

When women, children and older folks form a regular category of crime statistics, she said, "then you know we have reached an all-time low".

Added Kidd-Deans: "Our response mechanism has been outstripped by the scale and complexities of the tragedies we try to cope with."

Observing that the vast number of gated communities, among other precautions, spoke to a growing fear and insecurity, the senator said people were not only using iron grills to protect their homes but were employing security companies to fill the gap of an overworked and overstressed police force "which oftentimes are themselves victims or violators in their bid to enforce law and order".

Crime and violence continued to top the list of concerns in public opinion polls, with the economy being a close second, "obviously showing the correlation between the economy and crime", Kidd-Deans continued.

Demanding immediate action, Senator Kidd-Deans said, "Something must be done, and quickly, too. Jamaica now carries the face of Dodge City" (the legendary Wild West cowboy town).

Stating that "there is no value on life", she remarked that hope had become scarcer than guns.

"Our common humanity is debased and our responses (to crime) often rendered ineffective," she said, adding that the police were overburdened in responding to crime, "while an unarmed citizenry have to wait in line when they dial 119".

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS