KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) is calling for an urgent meeting of youth in leadership to posit ideas towards safer schools and communities across the island.

Expressing grave concern about the nation’s approach to creating and maintaining systems of peace and cohesion across the country, the PNPYO in a release this afternoon said the wanton murder of the nation’s children in various communities must be condemned by all.

President of the PNP youth arm, Krystal Tomlinson is asking: “What is the plan? When will stakeholders across the society start treating crime like the urgent priority it is? Why have political leaders, clergy, press, industry executives and advocates not met to create a long-term strategy to reverse the collapse of communities? What we are seeing is not simply a policing problem but the evidence of a fast disintegrating social fabric that is strangling the life out of our children as it unravels. Are those with the power to act asleep at the wheel?”

With the recently announced states of emergency declared for the parishes of St James, Westmoreland and Hanover, the PNPYO is adamant that this cannot stand on its own and does nothing to empower community-led organisations that statistically deliver better and more comprehensive mitigation and prevention results than the mass suppression approach.

“If the prime minister was half as committed to strengthening the intelligence gathering capabilities of law enforcement and identifying, empowering and integrating community peace building organisations as he is to declaring states of emergency we would be seeing sustained reductions in crime in in St James after last year’s failed SOE experiment. What is the central strategy? What are the local and provincial organisations that are being called upon to support the identification, investigation and prosecution of criminals?” Tomlinson asked.

“What we are seeing is a government emboldened by a sense of delusion, shamelessly reporting to the country how busy they have been chasing their tail. How many more of our children will be brutalised, raped and murdered while Security Minister (Dr Horace) Chang and Prime Minister Holness lace up their boots to kick the can further down the road?”

Tomlinson said the youth arm will now be reaching out to various bodies with a view to convene an urgent meeting to chart a way forward.