Dear Editor,

Peter Bunting, the Opposition spokesman on national security, made comments recently to the effect that Jamaica is a nation of indiscipline. He blamed a dysfunctional culture for the widespread support of unruliness.

I think most rational people would agree.

The spike in crimes, with over 700 murders already at just the halfway mark in the year, is alarming for a country as small as ours.

Just recently we heard of two prominent businessmen being murdered, in Kingston and MoBay, in the early afternoon, in broad daylight. How can we try to grow the economy with investment when doing so comes with such a huge risk?

Indiscipline and unruliness are everywhere: on the roads, in schools, and other social settings. Government is not solely responsible, but it can push initiatives to help tackle these problems while addressing urgent social needs, especially in vulnerable communities.

Fighting crime should not be restricted to policing. We must invest more in sports, culture and leisure at the community level and in schools, so that people can find outlets to relax, vent and calm down.

We must restore a climate of order and civility in every layer of society; eventually people will catch on. Most violent criminals are unemployed, uneducated young men, mostly from depressed communities. They feed into a culture of aggression, abrasiveness which becomes a vicious circle.

We must be able to curb the import of illegal guns and ammunition. We have to enforce a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violent crimes. Every decent citizen should be concerned.

P Chin

chin_p@yahoo.com