Andrew Holness and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) constantly stated that crime, particularly murder, had increased under the former People’s National Party (PNP) Government during the last general election campaign. They repeated it so often one really wondered if it was a fact. However, as it turns out, it was untrue, as Peter Bunting had stated then.

The facts, based on police statistics — and which the current JLP Government has not challenged — is that the average number of murders per year for the four-year period from 2008 to 2011, while the JLP was in office, was 1,470, compared to an average of 1,127 (or 342 fewer murders per year) for the four-year period from 2012 to 2015 under the PNP. Indeed, the average year of the past PNP Government had a lower number of murders than the best year of the previous JLP Government.

This kind of naked manipulation of the truth is not helpful for Jamaica, and coming from no lesser person than the JLP leader, now prime minister. There must be areas of national life that are off limits from this kind of politicking. As we Jamaicans say, ‘what is joke to you is death to me.’ Crime is a serious national problem and murder is the most serious and must be treated as such.

Bunting as national security minister took a most refreshing, effective and modern approach to crime-fighting. He developed measures to improve the security force’s use of intelligence; increased the use of DNA technology; increased the mobility of the police force; and, most importantly, recognising that crime was a problem with deep sociological roots, put in place interventions at the community level to tackle problems such as poor police/citizen relations in order to build trust and cooperation between the security forces and citizens. Through his Unite for Change Programme, Bunting addressed issues such as fatherlessness and poor self-esteem, which are factors that drive crime in partnership with community groups, schools and the Church.

He also introduced other measures such as reducing the use of lethal force; instructing the force to downplay the paramilitary style of dress by police personnel so that the police are seen as a part of the civilian community; not a force of occupation; reducing arrests for a ganja spliff; eliminating the use of curfews; etc.

What was the JLP’s response? Their leader, now prime minister, ranted about people must vote for the JLP if they “want to stay alive”, implying that murders were so rampant that the only way to solve it was to vote in the JLP. Such an approach can actually unnerve citizens and cause them to call for harsh measures when the measures being used are, in fact, being effective.

Bunting had rightly put the spotlight on lotto scamming for the rise in murders and was making steady gains in reducing the structure of that particular monster.

Perhaps ironically, the prime minister has now called for a bipartisan approach to solving crime.

It is amazing how having responsibility for something can concentrate one’s mind, as the Government is now faced with responding to a jump in the murder rate. Murder is now up, year to date, by 0.4 per cent and shooting by 1.4 per cent, while the reduction of all categories of violent crimes, which had shown steady improvement under the PNP, has slowed.

The Jamaican people are watching. Let us move away from this backward approach.

ladychristene89@gmail.com