We have been watching the developments in Gregory Park, an enclave in the St Catherine East Central constituency to see how the politicians are treating the recent criminal attacks on the community, given their penchant for one-upmanship.

Two Saturdays ago hoodlums killed a taxi operator and torched 11 houses, leaving 47 people, including nearly 30 children homeless, destitute, and living at the mercy of the elements at Walker’s Avenue.

For a brief moment the political representatives, Government and Opposition, were on the brink of indulging in the customary sport of trading blame for the attack, which would have muddied the waters and made resolution next to impossible.

Indeed, the People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker, Mr Raymond Pryce, went as far as to claim in a press statement that some social media posts accused him of sponsoring the violence, as he called on the leadership of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to refrain from turning the tragedy into “a political spectacle”.

It was a relief to hear Prime Minister Andrew Holness saying publicly that the attack was connected to gang activity in the area and urging residents to cooperate with the police to find the perpetrators.

Representatives of both parties have been visiting the area and offering assistance, notably food, clothes and back-to-school supplies to the unfortunate souls, no doubt in an attempt to curry favour with the residents. Nothing wrong with that.

What we are wary of is a promise by the Member of Parliament Mr Alando Terrelonge that public housing assistance to rebuild the burnt-out homes “will transform the communities”, without saying how.

It is to be recalled that public housing has been used by both political parties to create garrison communities, notably Back O’ Wall, now known as Tivoli Gardens and other parts of eastern and western Kingston, after supporters of one party or another were driven out. That is why we have such volatile communities as De la Vega City, Tawes Pen, Homestead, and Job Lane in St Catherine, among others.

The call by both the prime minister and Mr Pryce are to be heeded and used as the basis for assisting the Gregory Park residents.

Said Mr Holness: “Communities have a duty and a responsibility. Those young men and women who felt so emboldened that they could go and purchase gasoline, put them in containers, walk come to the area, in open view of everybody, and proceed to light houses of afire, that is like saying, we fear no one. Who is directing them? Who are they connected to? They have mothers and fathers too, brothers and sisters. And what are their families saying about that?”

For his part, Mr Pryce said: “It requires the total condemnation of the barbarism and it also requires all civic and community leaders, all political leaders, to work in unison with the police and the other agents of the State to bring restitution to the victims and to ensure that this kind of dastardly act is never repeated anywhere on the island of Jamaica.”

That aside, we are constrained to remind that nothing works better than uniting the people across political lines to attack crime and violence.

It would have even been better to see the prime minister and the Opposition leader visiting the area together, signalling that crime is an all-Jamaica problem that must be tackled by all of us.