IN an impassioned plea on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness urged families that have been rocked by violence not to seek revenge.

Holness, who was addressing the 15th annual ‘Heal the Family, Heal the Nation’ Conference at the National Arena in Kingston, said Jamaicans play an important role in the Government’s quest to reduce crime in the country.

With more than 1,300 murders committed in 2019, Holness stressed that revenge perpetuates the country’s ballooning crime problem.

“One thing you can do, do not take revenge — [it is a] very difficult thing for some people to do… I remember one [personal experience] where I visited a home where the child’s father was killed, and the child was distraught. She was crying and she said, ‘Mi haffi kill back somebody fi mi father’. Now that one, I know she was just talking because she was upset, and we counselled her,” the prime minister recalled.

He continued: “But there was another one, more recently, where this [teen’s] mother was killed and he wasn’t saying anything, but you could read the body language, and so we made sure that there was great counselling. I was close to the grandmother so I kept in touch, just to make sure that this youngster, who was on the right path in school, didn’t feel that he should postpone his life to take revenge for the murder of his mother.”

Holness said this is where families play a key role in crime-fighting, by ensuring that revenge is not the next step.

Instead, he is urging Jamaicans to “leave room for God’s wrath”.

He told the packed arena to get back at criminals smartly.

“We must overcome evil with good. Evil people like evil circumstances. They want evil circumstances and that happens when there is retaliation,” he said.

Referencing the story of Abraham’s negotiations with God, where he asked that Sodom be spared from destruction if righteous people could be found in the city, Holness said, on the contrary, only a handful of “bad people” exist in the country and have been influencing the crime rate.

“That story tells you that there is hope for Jamaica if all of you get down on your knees and pray every morning, because some of you prayers even stronger. Some of you prayers stronger because some of you know who the criminals are, and that is the reality. Some of the strongest, most ardent Christians, their sons are the most wayward and some involved in crime. Some of us know where the guns are…

“I appeal to the nation, don’t create an environment of support for the criminals who are close to you; don’t give them supper. Don’t support them. Be smart about what you [are] doing; share information.

“Ten years ago you wouldn’t publicly hear officials saying, ‘Talk on the criminals, tell us what you know’ — more and more you are hearing public officials, public personalities saying that. People are beginning to understand that if we are not smart about this thing, then we will be creating an environment in which the criminals flourish,” the prime minister said.

Holness said, while there was a time in the country’s history when sharing information would be risky, the Government of the day has made “significant” strides in creating a system of the “highest integrity”, if used smartly, to share information.

“In that regard, I am confident that our security forces have improved,” said Holness.