The following is an open letter to the Honourable Peter Bunting, minister of national security, and the Government of Jamaica:

Dear Minister,

This is not going to be an easy one that will go away as another nine-day wonder. I believe that the society’s cup runneth over with revulsion from the issue of crime, violence, and the apparent unchecked complicity of some members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in these activities. It continues to wreak havoc in the society and debase the country’s stature here and abroad.

I can hardly remember witnessing such a genuine and widespread outpouring of opinion, agitation and concern from so many Jamaicans as in the case of Mario Deane’s death, which has been a most incredible and difficult story to believe. The only silent persons have been the corporate community and some of the political elite, but it has been absolutely welcome and necessary civil action from everyone else.

Mario’s killing has exposed the underbelly of Jamaica’s law-enforcement institutions once more, and has shone a light on the corruption and almost unbelievable level of brutality and psychopathic-type behaviour that exists within these institutions. The levels of public apathy, dismay and visible disregard for our crime-fighting efforts and the system of injustice and unfairness in Jamaica have reached new heights.

Mario’s death has been accompanied by the court’s decision that three cops and two civilians be charged with Kentucky Kid’s murder and the tripling of gun licence requests to the Firearms Licensing Authority that is processing an average of 550 requests per month. There have been some 600 murders in the past seven months and INDECOM is busy investigating and charging JCF officers for certain murders and speaking out on the state of the JCF and its hostility in crime-fighting in the country.

His death was preceded by the similar death of another youngster, Kamoza Clarke; former DCP Jevene Bent’s resignation as head of the correctional services, apparently to save her reputation; and, the horror of all horrors, the changing of the commissioner of police without a full and satisfactory explanation from either you or the Government of Jamaica to date. We have been left to speculate and wonder why.

It has been stated by overseas interests that the JCF had serious problems regarding the high level of civilian deaths arising from some of their activities, and a United States official confirmed his Government’s pleasure and agreement with the changes you announced in merging the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force and the Anti-Corruption Branch into a new JDF intelligence-driven operation.

An interesting set of events in maintaining law and order in the country, regarded as successes by the Government, remains of grave concern to the people.

Minister, the ministry and Government have continued to be indecisive about the welfare of the ordinary people and have been overcome largely by a traditional approach to preserving and improving law and order in the country. In my opinion, there has been an academic and traditional “hands-off” approach to crime management with a damage control response at intervals of crisis, or demands from foreign partners. The people are hardly ever consulted or listened to. The announcements of a dip or decline in crime or murders continue to delude us from the reality that the monster of crime, corruption and police brutality is unfortunately still alive and well in Jamaica. I also believe there has been a failure to mobilise your parliamentary colleagues to participate effectively in cleaning up crime, corruption and violence in the country. So, while the ministry speaks of the successes, the people and foreign governments question all this.

Our relative weakness in crime fighting, international relations and bold decision-making seem to stem from the number of skeletons that I think we have in the cupboard. This has to be the first requirement for dealing with crime. Clean out the skeletons. Get rid of the skeletons of garrison communities and political enforcers, white collar-organised crime, drug trafficking, gunrunning, smuggling, tax and duty evasion, corruption in government bodies, money laundering, and accepting political party and election contributions from special interests and criminal elements.

If I am wrong, then there must be another explanation for the Government’s behaviour and policymaking processes.

Mario’s death was due to his arrest/detention for a ganja spliff. This primitive law enabled the police to detain him. Ganja lobby interests, starting from the Chevannes report in 2001, warned of this. And in light of the whole world moving to legalise ganja now, Jamaica has been asked to follow suit to compete in this new environment and earn money from the industry. Government’s decision-making on this has been cautious and reputedly concerned with the fear of offending the United States, which has the largest legal ganja industry today, while we suffer from the negative consequences of our inaction.

The decisions that the Government has taken to prevent the arrest of persons for possession of small quantities of ganja have been unclear and bureaucratic. Even after Mario’s death and mass public outcry, we are still being told about identification of persons by a justice of the peace at a police station and then the issue of a summons. How will this work? Is it practical? Does it not still provide room for disagreement and discord between police and citizen, instead of a clear-cut amnesty until the law is finally changed?

This is the second requirement, therefore. Have the Government enact and use laws where necessary to protect all the people: the elderly, women, children, and the disadvantaged from arbitrary police action and guarantee their individual rights to life and freedom, instead of laws that continue to be unfair to the people, costly to the country, but favourable to special interests.

You have started a nationwide audit of persons in police custody; good, as some people have lingered in prison for nearly 20 years unnoticed. Nevertheless, the police officers’ association states that the “squalid and inhumane conditions” are known and reported on every week.

Instead, it seems that an audit has to be conducted on the entire police force and how it is managed. It needs to re-organised and cleaned up once and for all as the third requirement. It must be better to evaluate and clear the police of unsuitable persons and have a smaller, trustworthy and more capable police force which will earn the respect and support of the people to fight against crime and violence. A new police commissioner by himself or herself will never work in a force facing public mistrust and fear, nor cause people to unite for change.

It seems that Mario Deane’s death has become the ultimate test for the Government. Will you fail or pass this test? Numerous broken-hearted parents, relatives, friends, and the Jamaican people are waiting to see the outcome. The people are tired of this routine of violence and abuse. Derrick Smith, Opposition spokesman on national security, “welcomes the fall in crime and murders, but says fear of crime still affects the nation’s psyche from Mario’s death and the merciless killing of children in western Jamaica”. So where are we going?

We have to go to the fourth inescapable requirement, the use of political will, leadership and legislative power to correct the ills in the country. Once the Government makes the decisions in the public interest, especially after consulting the people, and leads by example, success will follow.

Richard ‘Dickie’ Crawford is a social and political commentator and the convenor of Jamaicans United for Sustainable Development.