The peaceful and tranquil parish of Portland was rocked last weekend by a brutal double murder which had residents and the country on a whole, shivering with fear and disbelief.

Then we have the continued murder mayhem in Montego Bay, St James, which has the famous sobriquet ‘the friendly city’.

To be at the end of September with approximately 920 reported murders, with approximately 175 of that amount committed in St James alone, demonstrates in high resolution the nature of the beast we are facing in the country, particularly St James.

Only recently this newspaper was informed of the reactions of three children when they found out their father had been murdered in Montego Bay. “My father is dead, who is going to take care of us now? He was the only one working, what are we going to do? Are we [going to be] OK?”

These are the often forgotten victims of crimes, in this case, young victims of crimes, speaking and sharing after their lives have been blown asunder.

We have often in this space proffered solutions which, at times, have been met with ice cold water and chastisement, with the all too popular claim of us taking a political side.

The standard ‘cass cass’ and claims that things are under control; more police and soldiers have been deployed; a senior officer is now in charge; when my party was in power we did this or we did that, must now be shed and placed firmly on the scrapheap of rejection.

The situation as it stands now is one of chaos and alarm and one which must be pulled from the divide of any one party and any personal agenda.

The majority of the people of Jamaica are suffering and can take no more, businesses are tormented, and the fear of crime causes consistent emotional damage on the psyche of most well-thinking and law-abiding Jamaicans. Burglar bars are getting thicker, while politicians, on both sides, battle for one-upmanship in the media and in Parliament.

A consistent and robust national approach is required at this time. The leaders of the country must come out, together, with a bold national statement, attached to a plan, with one objective in mind, and that is to save Jamaica. This statement and plan should say, inter alia: “We the leaders of Jamaica (political and otherwise) have put aside our differences to work as one in a resolute attempt to reduce murders and to create a land of peace and prosperity.”

This first step must then be followed by concrete measures, aided by the required resources. In that regard, the State, which is strapped for cash, will need help from the private sector and whoever else can afford to contribute.

If necessary, we should be prepared to draw on resources from other areas to deal with crime, especially murders. That, we accept, will cause some discomfort, but it is unlikely that the country will achieve any significant gains if crime is not treated as an urgent priority on the national agenda.

That, though, will require more than just a State and private sector response, it needs support from every Jamaican, especially those among us who opt to remain silent despite having knowledge of criminal activity.

Our suggestions are certainly are not to be seen as a panacea, but surely they can be a guide to action. The time is nigh.