KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) are calling for the leadership of the nation’s political parties to keep their teams focused on a collaborative approach to fighting crime.

In a statement released today, the PSOJ urged the parties’ leadership to have their respective spokespersons “channel their efforts towards expediting the much-needed national consensus on crime.”

In October Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Leader of the Opposition Dr Peter Phillips and several private sector organisations attended an anti-crime summit which was aimed at developing a collaborative National Consensus on Crime.

The PSOJ said, however, that the private sector has noticed that the discourse has moved away from being collaborative to once again being combative.

“In late October we joined the two political parties and many other civic groups in committing to attaining a National Consensus on Crime. The private sector groupings have noted the heightened level of political rhetoric building about the state of crime in the country,” the statement read.

The PSOJ urged both party leaders to keep their teams focused on a joint and collaborative position on fighting crime as their primary objective.

The organisation said it will continue to support the team working on finalising the consensus views.

“We similarly urge them to expedite conclusion of this united view on the steps that need to be taken to reduce this growing scourge of violence and crime that grips our nation,” the statement said.