WITH this year’s murder toll pushing past the 1,400 mark yesterday, shadow security minister Derrick Smith claimed that the government has lost control of crime in Jamaica and demanded urgent action to stem the mayhem.

At the same time, Peter Phillips, the security minister, warned in a speech in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth that ‘dons’ and the power wielded by their criminal network threatened the Jamaican state and urged Jamaicans to “stand together” against the threat.

“If there is one thing that should not divide Jamaica now – because you can look over the precipice and see the prospect – let us not divide on the question of resisting criminality and crime and violence,” Phillips said.

In the capital, Smith lamented the outbreak of violence in several communities which mostly vote for the ruling People’s National Party (PNP).

“This runaway lawlessness must be brought under immediate control,” Smith told reporters at the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) headquarters on Belmont Road.

Added Smith: “We have been in politics for most of our adult lives and when a government is in control, areas that they control do not misbehave to embarrass them.”

This was a swipe at the ruling party for the two days of violence this week in sections of Spanish Town, St Catherine where residents rioted over the police killing of gang leader Donovan “Bulbie” Bennett. Bennett headed the Clansman gang, which is loosely aligned to the PNP.

There were also skirmishes at the High Court in downtown Kingston on Wednesday between the police and supporters of Donald “Zeeks” Phipps, the strongman of Matthews lane, a pro-PNP enclave in the JLP’s West Kingston. Phipps is facing murder charges.

There has also been ongoing violence in sections of the South St Andrew constituency of Finance Minister Omar Davies and Phillips’ East Central St Andrew riding.

Additionally, nine persons died in other acts of violence between Wednesday night and Thursday.

“We are calling on Peter Phillips to make a national statement to assure the nation that the government is still in control,” Smith said.

He also questioned why the police did not take action to prevent Monday’s and Tuesday’s rioting in Spanish Town, and sought to contrast their approach in the old capital to recent controversial operations by the security forces in the JLP’s West Kingston enclave of Tivoli Gardens

“They (the police) can be effective and they can be efficient. You have seen the levels of efficiency as it relates to Tivoli Gardens on many previous occasions,” Smith said. “Why on this occasion they lacked this level of effectiveness?”

In his St Elizabeth speech, Phillips who is contending for the leadership of the PNP when Prime Minister P J Patterson retires next year, insisted that the police were free to operate and said that a government that he leads would never interfere – not even if people associated with the ruling party were involved.

“There can be no compromise with criminality,” Phillips told community leaders at Santa Cruz’s St Matthew’s Church.

“Criminals are criminals whatever shirt they wear. If they are criminals they should be dealt with in accordance with the law. I know I can speak for the prime minister and the entire government of Jamaica. There will never be an instruction issued to the security forces that any criminal should be dealt with or should not be dealt with because of political or other considerations.”