We have a good sense that Prime Minister Mr Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mr Mark Golding are serious about achieving political consensus on fighting crime and violence in Jamaica.

We reported in an earlier edition of this newspaper that Mr Golding had looked Mr Holness in the eye and pledged: “Prime Minister, you have my support on all measures to turn this country around to a better place. Unity is strength,” as they both mourned the killing of a Clarendon mother and her four children.

Mr Holness has gone further and put his pledge in writing: “Let us create a space where the treatment of violence is not contested politically, and we share in the victory of overcoming violence,” he said as he addressed the first public presentation of the National Commission on Violence Prevention.

“If we don’t have political consensus it could be very easily used for political advantage. The use of violence is so deep-seated in our culture that it has to take this kind of consensus to really make the change,” said the prime minister.

If either leader is tempted to renege on this pledge, he would only have to remember the result of the recent RJRGLEANER Communications Group-commissioned Don Anderson poll showing that the two key figures responsible for our safety — the national security minister and the police commissioner — have lost the trust of the Jamaican people in a resounding manner.

We are obviously aware that pledges like these have been made before and not kept. But, instead of taking these utterances as just more talk, we think the leaders have gone a step further, motivated perhaps by the euphoria of celebrating our 60th anniversary of Independence.

For example, the prime minister, who bears the burden of getting the consensus off the ground, by reason of his office, has indicated he has been giving the matter serious thought, and therefore not just bamboozling us.

Mr Holness shared key examples of how political consensus worked in the past to offer solutions to existential threats of the time, listing the establishment of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, the Independent Commission of Investigations, and the rules on fiscal management as national achievements.

After six years in office he would have, no doubt, learnt by hard experience that “in a democratic society, change cannot be made unilaterally — consensus is required”.

More importantly, Mr Holness admitted that: “Change would not happen with the flip of a switch, but would take time… Violence prevention will require strong leadership working together to address the problem meaningfully.”

However, nothing will move the people out of their cynicism and despair if they do not see concrete steps that are sincere and action-based. No one needs us to tell them that if there is no buy-in from the population, we can all forget it.

Mr Holness and Mr Golding can start by revisiting the early promise of walking together in the garrisons. They should work with the topmost leadership of the security forces to hammer out a way to get information that only politicians can get to law enforcement. People are more likely to feel free to pass information through their political representatives.