Dear Editor,

For the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party Andrew Holness to suggest that the reason for the present crime problem is because the then opposition People’s National Party did not support an extension of the 2010 State of Emergency can only be described as insane.

This has confirmed in my mind that firstly, these people are clueless about what is really going on our society, and secondly, they are really desperate and are grasping at straws in their bid to discredit the present Government so they can regain power.

Let us be practical, if at all the State of Emergency was extended, the big question is “for how long would this extension be? For certainly it could not be indefinite. What would they have done during this extended period that would really prevent gang members from regrouping now three years later? Is it that they had information about these criminals and their activities and would they have used this information to round them up? And, if they did, what guarantee would they have that new persons would not have come up by now. Furthermore, if they had such information, why then would they not have shared it with the present Government for the common good of the people?

The JLP, in the first place, tried to block the extradition of Christopher “Dudus” Coke and it is this, in itself, that prompted the declaration of the state of emergency. Since Christopher Coke had been captured and extradited why would it be necessary to continue with the state of emergency? The JLP remained in power for a year and half after, so is this is effectively an admission on their part that these gangs started regrouping while they were still in power.

I believe this monster that is destroying our society called crime must be tackled through a collective effort where individual citizens cooperate to take back Jamaica community by community, parish by parish, as this is not a one man war. We all must take responsibility and play our part.

Gary Rowe

Coleyville P O, Manchester

magnett0072004@yahoo.com