MANCHESTER, Jamaica — Minister of National Security, Robert Montague, has suggested that putting an end to corrupt acts and the general silence on offences committed in the society could put a dent in the island’s crime problem.

“The greatest contributor to crime is corruption and silence,” he said, admitting that while the Government must lead in tackling the difficulty faced, it needs support because toppling crime is not a “simplistic venture”.

Montague, in a presentation at the monthly meeting of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce last Thursday evening, said that there is no crime in Jamaica where only one person knows the circumstances around why it happened.

“At least three persons know about every crime. Jamaica as a nation is 55-years-old and people are feeling frightened and powerless…because of the crime situation. Crime costs us in Jamaica approximately five per cent of our GDP,” he told the audience.

Montague said that police studies are showing that crime in Jamaica is usually not random and is inter-connected. As such his ministry has sought to handle the situation through a five-pillar long term crime reduction strategy.

He noted that it includes effective community-based policing, a swift process in the justice system, examining causations and fostering social development, facilitating order for example through the proper development and structure of communities and seeking to have a rehabilitation process that truly redirects inmates from a path of crime.

Montague said that one of the areas of concern is difficulty in keeping contraband out of the country as, at present the illegal points of entry far outnumber the legal ones.

“…We have 14 formal points of entry (such as the airports and shipping ports). You have all kinds of security measures, yet at the formal points of entry and exit people are still trying to smuggle in drugs, guns, bullets and other uncustomed goods. We did a survey and found that…we have 145 points of illegal entry. Can you imagine what is coming in at those 145 illegal points of entry?” said Montague.

He told the Manchester audience that on the South Coast there is a very active trade in meat and drugs for guns.

Montague said that illegal gas and other unlawful activities are also taking place at that point.

“Our problem in Jamaica is the illegal guns and gangs. No matter how you want to twist it, roll it or shape it, that’s the major problem we have in Jamaica,” he said.

Montague said that criminal activities have morphed overtime and today the challenges include lottery scamming, international organised crime and cybercrime.

He said the recently announced national identification system is just one of the efforts to adequately structure the society and assist the crime problem.

The security minister said that because Jamaicans often use murder to index crime, downward trends in general criminal activities are often overlooked.

“The statistics show us that crime is down year on year by five per cent (nationally). Murder and shooting those are up but when you average out everything crime is down,” he said.

In the meantime, Superintendant of the Manchester Police Division Wayne Cameron disclosed at the function that the parish is seeing a reduction in six of the seven categories of major crimes, including murder.

He said the murder figure at this time last year was 22 but now it is at 20.

Cameron also noted that rape is on the rise and while some arrests have been made, he cautioned citizens to be careful and be cognisant of the dangers of isolated locations.

Montague, prior to his presentation at the meeting at Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, handed over four pre-owned vehicles- two for the Manchester Police Division and the other two for the St Elizabeth Police Division.

Alicia Sutherland