KINGSTON, Jamaica — An embattled former police officer says he has the solution to Jamaica’s long history of lawlessness, and is calling on the Government to quickly review and implement his crime plan.

Ex-constable Mark Russell was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for allegedly assisting in the execution-style killing of a 17-year-old boy in 2007. He had fled the island before being charged but was held in the United States and extradited in 2012.

Read: Ex-constable found guilty in murder of 18-y-o boy

Read: Cops weep as former colleague sentenced to life in prison

However, in October 2021, the disgraced police officer was freed of his conviction in the Court of Appeal due to improperly admitted evidence among other factors.

Now, Russell still wants to help his country to reduce and eradicate crime.

“While it is the job of the Government to fight crime, it is everybody’s problem so everybody must play a role directly or indirectly to assist the government to remove this deadly plague from this country,” the ex-cop outlined in his crime plan. 

Speaking with OBSERVER ONLINE, Russell said he is confident his proposal will see a 25 per cent reduction in murders annually over a 10-year period.

“I am really sure that this is the way to solving our crime problem because it deals with the problem from the root — the socio-economical problems — and we are dealing with these problems long term. It is something that everybody will play a role in doing. The crime problem cannot dissolve if it is police alone, everybody has to play a role and this is what my crime plan is doing, so it will work,” Russell said.

“The money that is being spent to fight crime, at the end of the year when everything is done the money vanishes, it goes into a vacuum. Now, this money will stay in the community, it will stay in the hands of the residents; it will help to change their lifestyle so I’m sure this will have a lasting impact,” he continued.

Russell’s detailed 25-page document combines a series of new and unconventional approach to find a permanent solution to fix the country’s socio-economic problems and restore order to the island.

At the root of his plan is the restoration of the seven broken pillars of the Jamaican society. This, he listed as poor family structure, poor working structure, poor education system, poor community unification structure, poor conflict resolution, poor Government accountability and a poor religious law system.

“There is a total breakdown in our society and where there is no love for our fellow black people and no fear of God, no respect for the law of God or the law of the land, then we have to come together and form a completely new strategy to fight this plague,” he explained.

“We have spent and wasted hundreds of billions fighting crime and violence while it has been increasing instead of decreasing. We realise that this monster feeds off billions of dollars and little or none of this money has gone towards developing the communities ravaged by this monster and none has gone towards enriching the lives of the poor and oppressed residents.”

He proposes a patriotic campaign amongst citizens, indirect policing to reduce crime, and applying the African philosophy of Ubuntu which teaches that society gives human beings their humanity.

This, he said, will enrich the lives of the citizens, give them employment opportunities and teach them how to resolve their conflicts before it escalates.

Some of the solutions outlined in Russell’s crime plan include:

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Special laws passed to protect the family including death penalties for home murders and hard labour for convicts in home assaults;

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A home protection strategy for home invasions;

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Married couples to be provided with housing opportunities, employment opportunities, marriage counselling from Churches, financial education, business loans, paid vacations for a week at a resort;

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Each community must have high rise shopping centres, high rise call centres, hotels, garment factories and craft, food markets, bus parks and recreational parks;

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A national conflict resolution campaign which will begin in homes then schools and community centres;

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The replacement of community dons with a patriotic leader from the community who will act as a security officer assigned to a Neighbourhood Watch programme backed by an armed security team which patrols the community daily;

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Parliament to enact patriotic laws to put pressure on people who promote violence against citizens and who threaten to destroy the country;

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The creation of a new generation of musicians and actors to replace the ones who promote crime and violence;

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Special counselling to resolve the growing trend of family feuds especially over assets left by deceased loved ones;

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Government parties to publicly direct and assist the police and the National Integrity Action to investigate all government ministers and those under their agencies;

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The arrest, prosecution and conviction or dismissals of Government officials in the public’s  interest;

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The investigation of bank accounts and all electronic data of all government workers leading 10 years back;

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All fishermen, sailors and work crew must be registered before they can work on any fishing vessel whether big or small and they must have permit and identification card on them at all times at sea;

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All cold storage areas must be searched before departure and upon arrival at local port; 

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All fishermen operating vessels must report to their local marine police before departing the island and upon their arrival their schedule must be handed over to the marine police database;

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The construction of three new prisons, one in each county to isolate criminals from making new alliances;

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The grouping of all prisoners according to their levels of crime (group one, two, and three) so that they will not make new links with hardened criminals;

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All future parolee and bail recipients must wear a paid for ankle bracelet to monitor them and reduce future crimes; and

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The changing of the country’s motto to “One God, One Aim and One Destiny” to spread Marcus Garvey’s philosophy to change colonial thinking and unite us as one people.

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The crime plan also includes secret strategies.

According to Russell, once the seven pillars of the community are restored along with the maintenance of current policing strategies, citizens will live a more peaceful, prosperous and productive life.

“They will be able to prevent or resolve conflicts before they escalate…We will target every at risk community, every family and every citizen to play a role in indirect policing. All citizens’ lives will be greatly enriched and many will be awarded for their patriotism.

“We will no longer spend billions in flooding the island with security forces but rather strengthen the Jamaican workforce amongst the youths who are most likely to commit these gruesome crimes and  transform our communities,” the ex-officer shared.

The crime plan, dated February 3, 2020, has been submitted to the Government and police commissioner, Russell said.

As for how it will be financed, Russell pointed to the same annual crime fighting budget.

“I wouldn’t ask for more money because for me, more money is not a solution, it is a different strategy so nobody needs to be puzzled and say ‘where we gonna get another $50 billion?’ It’s just that we’re going to use the money in a different direction.

“Previously, they were saying they need money to buy new guns, new cars, new gears but that is to fight crime, we’re not focusing on fighting crime. In life, you need balance. You have two hands, a left hand and a right hand so we’re going to continue with the strategy for fighting crime but we want to prevent crime and fix the socio-economical problems. If you don’t deal with that, you’re not going to solve the problem. We’re trying to solve the problem, not trying to put a band aid on it,” Russell said.