Dear Editor,

I read the recent Jamaica Observer editorial, published on July 18, entitled ‘The police are trying — if only the politicians would’ and was profoundly disappointed.

I find it quite unfortunate and unbecoming that the editorial sought to solely credit the police with the 12 per cent reduction in violent crimes so far this year, while dismissing significant efforts by the political directorate to address the scourge which has plagued our society for far too long.

The editorial inexplicably ignores the fact that it was the Government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness which tabled in the Parliament Plan Secure Jamaica in 2016. This is the first comprehensive document placed before Parliament containing a multi faceted approach to dealing decisively with both crime and violence in society.

Plan Secure Jamaica is a whole-of-government plan which focuses efforts on 10 strategic areas, including crime and violence, public order, corruption, community safety, territorial integrity and securing the blue economy, crisis response and resilience, justice, cyber defence, critical infrastructure protection, and economic security.

Without a good plan we are doomed to fail. Plan Secure Jamaica represents a good plan and I recommend it to the Observer’s editorial writer. It is a good read and will offer appropriate and relevant content to current successes being achieved.

It is also evident that over the past few years several programmes and initiatives have been undertaken by the political directorate to give full effect to Plan Secure Jamaica in order to reduce crime and restore public order to acceptable levels.

Some of the key initiatives include transforming the security forces via expansion of the security forces in terms of numbers, improvement in the telecommunications systems, and intelligence gathering, expansion, and upgrading of technological systems and digitisation and improvement to the physical infrastructure, namely police stations.

The political directorate has also moved to strengthen the legislative framework. The steps include passage of the zones of special operations legislation; the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) (Amendment) Act; the new Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act to establish Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) as a fully independent law enforcement agency; the proposed new Bail Act; amendment to the Proceeds of Crime Act; and the selected use of states of public emergency (SOEs).

Significant investment in the ‘LIV GUD’ campaign, which is a partnership between the Ministry of National Security and the Jamaican people and proposes to take a stand against anything that violates the person, good living, public safety, and public order, also suggests that the current Government gets it, in terms of solutions to fighting crime and violence. That campaign has been geared towards strengthening social inclusion in crime fighting and violence prevention as well as reinforcing the social contract between citizens and the State.

Not only has the political directorate led by Prime Minister Holness presented a sophisticated approach to addressing national security challenges, but it has also invested unprecedented amounts in seeking to solve the problem.

The prime minister is also on record indicating that no criminal, regardless of social or political persuasion, will find cover under his Administration or the security forces.

I believe the current Administration has done more than any in Jamaica’s history to provide sustainable solutions to the problem of violent crime and has set Jamaica on a path, moving, step by step, towards achieving a sense of safety and security.

In the context of the above-mentioned, the Observer editorial, which sought to credit only the patriots who have their boots on the ground fighting crime for the reduction in violent crime, has done a great injustice to the Government of Jamaica, which, mind you, consists of politicians.

Bernard Headley

bernard.headley@yahoo.com