Earlier this year, St Thomas crime chief, Superintendent Steve McGregor was dispatched to take control of the St James Police Division in a massive police shake-up. So far this move seems to be paying off as reports of murders have scaled down significantly. One hopes this trend continues.

But, despite a drastic reduction in the murder rate since the introduction of Superintendent McGregor et al, and the major crackdown on the sweepstake scam which saw many arrested, it is interesting to note there have not been many reports of the recovery of guns and ammunition.

Reports of the dismantling of the gangs which were responsible for the widescale mayhem which threatened to break the back of tourism, the country’s number one foreign exchange earner, have been just

as sparse.

It is therefore, easy for one to conclude that the gangs are still out there, armed to the teeth.

It is incumbent on the police to keep up the pressure and dismantle the gangs before elections.

But the police need our help to raze the gangs. Additionally, politicians representing the two major parties need to ensure that criminals do not infiltrate their respective motorcades.

These hoodlums have demonstrated that they are trigger happy and have no qualms about killing.

For instance, remember last year when a group of men armed with high-powered weapons opened fire at a police patrol in one of the Montego Bay inner-city community?

One gets the chills to imagine the body count which could result if a motorcade loaded with hundreds of party supporters is being attacked by heavily armed thugs affiliated to an opposing party.

Both leaders of the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) and the opposing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) have made it abundantly clear that there will not be any safe haven for gangsters in their respective parties.

But, one has to be mindful that some political pundits are predicting a “bloody election”. And if the wanton bloodletting in the parish last year is anything to go by, then politicians should share the onus of ensuring that gangsters do not utilise the political campaign as their platform to spew blood as this could run the murder rate even higher that last year’s total of 178.