Dear Editor:

The random killing of civilians and cops is enough to make any normal citizen feel weak. God help our country.

Just last week a young female cop, Crystal Thomas, was shot dead on a bus! No words could describe the pain etched on her brave mother’s face as she accepted her late daughter’s diploma at the graduation ceremony, just days after her daughter was viciously murdered. This week, another cop, Lyndon Barrett, on patrol duties was killed in downtown Kingston. But, what exactly is “patrol duties”? Should cops carry out these duties alone?

Crime is so rampant; all cop duties should patrol in groups of at least four or five. This is how we see it in North America and elsewhere. You never see one cop alone and the rare times you do, there are usually other cops not too far away. As an extra safety precaution, off-duty cops should limit the use of public passenger vehicles if they can help it. Government may not have the funds, but they could at least try to offer some type of transport allowance to help those who risk their own lives daily, to protect others.

As poverty levels continue to soar, criminals will unleash and vent their anger without fear, or care. Despite economic constraints facing Government, we must find ways to supplement policing and crime-fighting methods. We must invest in all forms of social intervention; I would set up an immediate task force to deal with social intervention, especially in hotspots and volatile communities. Sports and culture is an effective tool which can be tapped to help unemployed, hopeless and marginalised youths occupy their time more productively. We must look into these options immediately.

Can’t the Government invest more in Heart Trust skill training to increase capacity, even if it means borrowing or partnering with private sector? It is all good that the security minister is in Washington to further cooperation with the USA on combating organised crime, which includes narcotics trafficking, lottery scamming and extremism. But we have to find effective ways to counteract the root causes of crime as well, or all security measures will be futile! Until then, may the good Lord have mercy!

P Chin