Well the general election is behind us and the same problems we had before Nomination Day we have them still. However, we have an opportunity to see in the submitted manifestos what the parties’ outlook is.

Now although only the winning party gets to implement their ideas I think it is important to look on both presented plans. Why? Well, intelligent minds worked on both. I also think that the popular vote showed almost equal support for both parties with 57 to 43 per cent in the JLP’s favour. Really when you think about it what is seven per cent anyhow?

The seat count is simply a reflection of the machination of the electoral system and has very little to do with how many votes for one party vs another.

This type of outlook is very relevant to security issues as people’s support is important as state measures often trample on citizens’ freedoms. With this in mind, it is imperative that steps are taken to see what the public endorses or rejects.

Ok, firstly none of the plans blew me away, but I realise you cannot go into much detail in a manifesto and I know both parties have much more up their sleeve. You also have to be careful how much you state about what you are going to do to the gangs as they can cost parties entire parishes. They live in the garrisons, we do not. So although the police can go anywhere in post- “Dudus” (Christopher Coke) Jamaica there are still issues as to hourly control of people’s lives and who really impacts that.

So I saw two things on the PNP’s list that stood out. Everything else was the usual rhetoric. There is the sexual offenders register. This is a North American import that has spread to other countries that allows for public listing of sexual offenders and can extend to the convicted person, once released, being obligated to inform people living in a specified proximity to his place of abode of his history.

Some would say this may make re-entry to society more difficult and may contribute to re-offending and the released convict returning to prison. Well, I agree with the theory that it would increase the challenges for the convicted offender, but frankly I could not give a damn. Rape is a brutal act and is a inhuman display of violence by the most evil against the most vulnerable.

Had I not been against sentences that cannot be reversed I would agree that rapists should be executed with the use of a ‘pick-axe’ stick and a rock. If you do not like the consequences then do not use your organ to destroy people’s lives for your pleasure. So good idea Fitz Jackson. Protection of society trumps criminal rights everytime.

Another aspect of the PNP’s plan is the separation of criminals based on the type and veracity of offenses as it relates to penal institutions. We sort of have that already with Tamarind Farm, but far more efforts at separation is needed. You must remember some convicted persons are not animals, whilst some. It would be an insult to an animal to call them one. Therefore, if we treat both the same we will need a zoo for the end result .

Also, always remember that we drive cars and anything can happen to land us or our adult children in prison. So put the gangsters in zoo-like cages and the humans in rehabilitation centres.

Many normal people are in prison with cold-blooded killers for traffic accidents and cases of negligence. It is correct in law, but it just does not feel right. Hard core prisons are for hard core criminals. There are levels in everything.

Ok now for the JLP’s plan. Well firstly I liked NIDS. Not just because of the obvious structure it brings, but also because it gives us additional grounds to cage killers. You see, fighting crime is about prevention, investigation and imprisonment. If there exists a law that allows for more gang members in custody, then like the Suppression of Crime Act and the parochial State of Emergencies it will help to break the spirit of the gangs.

The JLP also spoke to the establishment of a cold case department. This is imperative because the investigators have dozens of murders investigating and the most current gets the most attention. This is no one’s fault as we cannot afford a massive police force and it is not the Government or the cops committing murders, it is the thugs. So I think a group committed to cold cases could bring about peace for many families who think their loved one’s life has been taken and forgotten. Good thinking here ‘Doc’ (Dr Horace Chang).

I do not think any of the plans reflect a country in crisis though. This could easily be a plan for Barbados or Anguilla and they are not killing much.

We, on the other hand, are in the middle of a blood culture where persons kill expecting no repercussion.

I would have liked to see some intent to introduce changes to the Gun Court Act. This to include an assault rifle act called the ‘Clunis, Hilton and Biggs Act. This would mandate life sentences for possession of an illegal assault rifle. Also, 25-year sentences for possession of a gun if loaded with more than five rounds. The type of weapon being an assault rifle was used by the gunman in the shootout that killed the three police officers in June and the amount of ammunition the criminal was in possession of played a major role in the level of destruction that took place.

I wanted to hear of expanded remand facilities with an aim to imprison all gang members under an anti-gang act that allows for indefinite detention without charge… stuff like that.

You know we admire Singapore’s president that created the great economic leap and took control of his country. You think he pulled it off by pretending their problems did not exist.

I want a plan from any of you or both of you that reflect that “people’s lives matter, that we will stop the killers by ‘any means necessary’”. This is not unreasonable. Preventing killings cannot be subject to political correctness. As a matter of fact, if your child or my child is going to be murdered I do not really care what the hell you need to do to stop it. Just ‘nuh mek’ it happen!

So moderates who are shaking their heads in despair at my comments do this exercise for me: Think of all victims as your victims and not somebody else’s victim and this will surely clear the cobwebs in your mind.

I believe in law enforcement. But I do not believe laws must aid killers. So if the Bail Act is getting in the way of saving lives then get it repealed. If indefinite detention will save one innocent person’s life then at least state that you will try to introduce it. That is the fire I want.

So in closing I liked some stuff you guys put in there. I hope you both can cooperate to get it done. But I still feel both parties are afraid to say they are going to do dramatic things to save lives. Maybe it is the ‘Seventies’ that stole our manhood or maybe we just had stronger, angrier and more determined men in our past than we have now. Or maybe, just maybe, we have become smarter, rather than louder.

I really hope it is the latter. Good luck! We are depending on you, so feel free to depend on us.

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