KINGSTON, Jamaica — Social intervention programmes aimed at tackling crime that have been abandoned by the Jamaica Labour Party government will be restored under a future People’s National Party (PNP) administration.

The programmes include the once popular Peace Management Initiative (PMI) and Unite for Change.

PNP President and Opposition leader Mark Golding gave the commitment on Sunday during his address at the party’s annual conference at the National Arena.

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang has repeatedly argued that such interventions were ineffective and the resources it took to keep them going could be better spent elsewhere.

However, describing Jamaica’s murder rate as one of the highest in the world, Golding remarked that after United for Change and PMI were shut down “crime shot through the roof”.

“We will not neglect the need for community engagement…We will partner with the private sector, churches and civil society to roll out a national programme of effective, holistic and sustainable community programmes,” Golding said.

“And we will not ignore the reality that our prison system needs an overhaul, so it rehabilitates inmates rather than producing more hardened criminals,” he added.

The Opposition leader said one of the first priorities of a future PNP Administration will be strengthening and enabling communities for safety and security.

“The PNP’s vision for citizen security is built on a foundation of community partnership and empowerment. We are committed to an optimal blend of effective law enforcement with community-driven solutions, to create a safer Jamaica. Our strategy targets the root causes of crime, to deliver results that sustainably reduce violence,” he said.

Golding stated that, “a balanced approach to crime reduction is at the core of our strategy. Our approach recognises that public safety is best achieved when enforcement and prevention are working in harmony. Unlike this Government, we have a plan.”

Golding shared that the PNP’s portfolio teams for citizen security, education, social transformation, culture and sports have been taking a joined-up approach, working together.

“We will invest heavily to increase the number of social workers in communities, tasked with addressing core social problems like school absenteeism, teenage parenting and student hunger. We will ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable children, elderly and infirm Jamaicans are responded to by the state,” he said.

He also said therapeutic counselling will be integrated into intervention programmes to combat the culture of violence and trauma.

And, he said the PNP will provide at-risk youth with viable alternatives to criminal activity, investing in remedial education, job training and youth development programmes.