ON October 5, the Jamaica Observer carried a letter that I wrote with some suggestions to deal with a new approach towards crime fighting in Jamaica. These approaches, which I knew were controversial, sparked serious debates on the Internet, radio and in bars and hairdressing parlours across the country.

These suggestions, I must admit, are not conventional because we have lived on a culture of hard policing for the past 40 years. Therefore, the ideas which I have put forward, for most Jamaicans, would not be palatable. I would, however, like for my Jamaican brothers and sisters, to step back and look carefully at the suggestions that I have made.

There is nothing in the seven-point strategy that I have put forward to suggest that I am “batting for dons” as suggested by the Jamaica Observer headline of Tuesday, October 5. Instead, they constitute a set of “carrots” which are designed to give support to the fight against this monster that has plagued us for over 40 years. All the approaches at fighting crime in this country have failed and as Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect to get different results”.

We have been paying the police to do a job and that job has been characterised by an environment of hardcore policing. “Get the boys and deal wid dem case,” some people say. Through this approach, we have killed Starkey, Burry Boy, Sandokan, Natty Morgan, etc. We established the Eradication Squad, King Fish and a host of other special squads in the security forces and to date we have not been able to cauterise the problem.

Instead, we keep on churning out these nefarious characters like water from the Mona Dam. What is it that is missing from the strategy? What is it that needs to be done to eradicate this plague that has dogged our country for so long? Is it that we have given the police “a basket to carry water?”

These are questions that have boggled my mind whilst I was in Government and since I have re-entered academia. It is against that background I have put forward the argument for a different approach towards crime fighting — not as a means of “batting for dons”.

In this article, I would like to put forward some suggestions for operationalising the approaches that I have put forward, but before I do so, I would like to again highlight the seven points that I have made towards the efforts of crime-fighting and implore readers to read them carefully. Particular attention must be given to Number 3.

1. That we put in place a mechanism to have all “gangs” converted to registered companies.

2. Each gang member will become a director of the newly formed company in his or her own right.

3. That for these registered companies to access the government largess or contracts; they must give up all forms of criminal activities, including their guns.

4. If a member of any of these companies continues to violate the law, the particular company to which he or she is involved should be barred from the process of accessing government contracts and the full force of the law be brought to bear on the individual who continues to commit the crime. It will therefore be incumbent on all directors to operate within the confines of the law for the company to be successful.

5. A portion of the J$88 billion contract market, not exceeding 10 per cent, should be reserved for these companies. If we want to win the war on crime as a society, in a lasting way, we must be prepared to do some trading. Most of these youths who are involved in the gangs have been denied the opportunity to participate in the economic development of our country through gainful employment. This particular suggestion will certainly create such opportunity.

6. The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), the National Transformation Programme, in collaboration with the Office of the Commissioner of Police, should be charged with the responsibility of co-ordinating and implementing this initiative.

7. Failure to utilise this mechanism by these “gangs” will result in the full force of the law being executed on them.”

In the suggestions, I have cited some institutions which could play a pivotal role in the execution of these approaches. An institution like the PMI, for example, has been playing a tremendous role in vulnerable communities across the country and if it was not for their work, for the most part, there would have been a serious social explosion in the country. With this in mind I want to suggest the following strategies for the implementation of these initiatives:

a. The PMI and Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) should engage these “gangs” in a discussion as to laying down arms in exchange for a better way of life. These discussions are not going to be easy, but if these misguided youths know that there is a “better way” that is being placed on the table for them, I am certain that there will be positive responses.

b. Once there is a positive response to the idea by the “gangs” the PMI and or JFJ would approach the commissioner of police and the JBDC simultaneously, to inform them of the results of the discussions and to get the process going. The commissioner of police has to be advised because in such a delicate operation or discussion, one would not want any intervening factors to jeopardise the outcome. The JBDC will commission the process of bringing these gang members into the formal structure of the society by assisting them with training and completing the necessary documentation to establish a company.

c. Whilst all of this is taking place, the gang members must give in ALL weapons that they possess. If they do not do this, the process will be defeated as a part of the strategy is to rid the streets of the guns which have been the weapon of “mass destruction” in our society.

d. Once the guns have been handed over and the necessary documentation completed for the formulation of the company, a formal agreement is to be signed by the respective gang members, committing themselves to abandon their past and to adhere to the terms of the agreement.

e. Once the agreement has been signed and the necessary documentation for the registration of the company has been done and the training completed, then the process of accessing the contracts will commence. It must be pointed out that the governmental contracts should not be confined to the construction of roads or buildings. There are a host of other services that governments engage in and require service from companies outside the governmental structure. There are certain areas, for example, that these companies will not be able to participate in such as those areas related to national security.

f. A monitoring mechanism, comprising the PMI, JBDC, JFJ, NTP and the Office of the Commissioner of Police must be established to ensure that the agreements signed are not being violated.

g. As suggested by one of the readers of the article on Tuesday, a pilot project should be used to test the practicality of such an idea. If the model is successful, which I have no doubt it will, then it should be replicated all over the island. The pilot would last for six months and the model would be put into operation for a five-year period.

For close to 40 years, we the citizens of Jamaica have been confronted with the monster of crime. We have gritted our teeth as we see our brothers and sisters being brutally murdered in our country. Various responses have been formulated to deal with the problem. We therefore have to approach the matter in a different way and these ideas are being placed on the table for our consideration. We cannot just be using the “stick”; we need to have some “carrots” placed on the table as well. In my estimation, there is sense in the madness!!

morrisfloyd@gmail.com