As we come to the ending of 2022, 2023 beckons with all the possibilities that a new year portends.

For everyone, there are things that were not done in 2022 that one might have been desperate about completing. Despite one’s best efforts there is unfinished business that has to be attended to in the new year. That is why a new year tends to be aspirational. And that is why we make resolutions as we seek to approach with greater determination the tasks that were left undone in the previous year. Never mind if many of us run out of gas by the end of January.

There are things that happened in our country that we cannot be proud of as we come to the end of another year. Top on the list is our crime problem, which is posing a greater existential threat to our nation than ever before. Violent, murderous criminality by the gun is the main driver of this threat. New legislation regarding the use of the gun will soon be implemented as is the revision of the Bail Act. The National Identification System (NIDS) should become operational during 2023 and this will lend greater force to detection and arraignment of the criminal elements among us.

I am still deeply disturbed by the use of states of public emergency (SOEs) as a crime-fighting tool. This is perhaps one of the very few things that I am in agreement with the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) on. There seems to be a tendency among some in officialdom that those of us who oppose their use are soft on crime, are unwitting supporters of criminal activity, or worse, do not take the security of the country seriously. Well, let me speak for myself, for nothing could be further from the truth. My objection stands on the fundamental principle that, for good and very sound reason, our constitution did not intend this measure to be used with the regularity with which the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) uses it because it severely cauterises citizens’ fundamental human rights; they are intended to be rare and of short duration.

At this point the Government is going down the slippery slope of springing them every 14 days because they cannot get the agreement of the Opposition to extend them. This is a very dangerous trend and Prime Minister Andrew Holness must be warned about the injury it can do to the fundamental rights and freedom of the Jamaican people.

I am surprised that The Jamaica Bar Association, human rights groups, and the judiciary have been so silent on this important matter. To the best of my knowledge there has been no vigorous pushback against the Government on this matter.

If the Government needs special emergency powers to fight crime or any other threat to the health and wealth of the Jamaican people, then do so in the Parliament as it is seeking to do under the new emergency powers of the Enhanced Security Measures Act (ESMA) being sought. But it cannot be that every 14 days there is a declaration of a state of emergency in selected areas of the country. This makes a mockery of the constitution, diminishes the potency of a state of emergency when it is really needed, and more importantly, renders the country more vulnerable to existential threats to its survival. Is this so hard to see, Mr Prime Minister?

If we have learnt anything this year, and previous years, it must be that fighting crime has to be a serious collaborative effort between the citizens, the political directorate, and the security forces. Just as it is clear to me that SOEs are not the best approach, it equally clear that the police by themselves cannot bring violent criminality under control. It has to be a joined-up effort between the citizens and the security forces. Efforts to get citizens to report on intended crimes that they know about, especially where guns show up in communities, must be intensified.

The Government must treat the problem as the crisis it is and engage citizens — 90-odd per cent of whom are law abiding — through town halls and other media to become involved; increase monetary incentives; acknowledge that fighting crime is largely a community problem; and work with stakeholders in these communities, through the schools, churches, and other civic institutions, to address the problem. The Social Development Commission in collaboration with Jamaica Social Investment Fund and the relevant arms in the Ministry of Education should collaborate to train a cadre of social workers who can be embedded in communities throughout the island to assist with conflict resolution and pragmatic parenting. This will help to stem the growing mental problems that one can be sure will intensify in these communities in 2023.

While we are at this we must increase our resolve to deal with the emerging gang menace in our schools, which is already showing up in the violent behaviour of our students. We are at a tipping point as far as violent crime is concerned. There is no point wringing out hands and lamenting about the problem. If Jamaica decides that enough is enough we can all rise up and end the menace. The solution is in our hands. May 2023 be the great starting time.

We can do it; we must do it.

Let me thank my readers for staying with me in this column over these many years. In your e-mails and blogosphere comments you have indicated, some very forcefully, that you do not always agree with my views. But you have done so largely with patience and even compassion in some instances. This is as it ought to be. I have been writing in the public sphere for almost 50 years and your comments have strengthened me, refashioned my views on some subjects, and kept me humble.

Thanks for your support. Some of you who go back many years, do not be lacking in our critical support in 2023.

A rewarding 2023 to you and your family.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storm; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.