Dear Editor,

It is absolutely clear that there will be no solution to Jamaica’s crime situation unless the Government and Opposition begin, and continue to have, sustained, serious, and meaningful discussions in an attempt to find and implement the solutions.

While I accept that there is no guarantee that a solution will be found, without such meetings there is no chance whatsoever and things will only get worse. The meeting of the sides is absolutely necessary.

I do not know whether such talks are underway, but I am aware that the Opposition has made overtures to the Government for such, and at one stage there appeared to have been some reluctance by the Government to respond positively.

The fact that there has been no such set of sustained meetings to address crime in Jamaica’s recent history is further evidence that going it alone (something that both parties have tried) will not work.

The current states of emergency (SOEs) will end shortly, with the SOEs in St James,Westmoreland and Hanover scheduled to end on October 28. The one for Clarendon-St Catherine will end October 19, and before that, just around the corner, the Kingston and St Andrew SOE will end on October 5. And although there are indications of imperfections in the SOEs’ effectiveness, the crime fraternities are just licking their lips in anticipation of their ending.

It should also be noted that Jamaica has actually been in a real, if not officially declared, state of emergency for over 40 years since the late 1960s when the murder rate doubled from the 1962 number of 3.9 per 100,000 (one of the lowest in the world at the time) to over 8 per 100,000. Currently our rate hovers near to 50 per 100,000, and remains in, or close to, the top 10.

What is critical for any semblance of success to be achieved is a sense of continuity, not necessarily with an extended SOE (which many consider better than nothing at all) but with a definitive crime plan, being visibly implemented, that will be effective both by the message it sends, and by the actuality that it is.

But the continuity, SOE or otherwise, is not going to happen unless both sides come together to start and continue to work it out.

David Abrikian

dpabrikian@yahoo.com