THE Independent Jamaican Council for Human Rights (IJCHR), in the wake of Monday’s mass killing in Pleasant Heights, Rockfort in Kingston, is reiterating a call made last month for the Government to “initiate a comprehensive process to identify a new consensus” to deal with the factors driving criminality.

Five people were fatally shot at a football match held in the east Kingston community on Monday evening. Several community members were also injured in the incident which pushed the police to impose a 48-hour curfew there.

The gun attack on National Heroes’ Day was carried out while scores of people, including children, were enjoying the festivities.

Hours after Monday’s attack, the security forces shot dead a man who was believed to be one of the gunmen who committed the murders. Police said that a firearm was seized after the encounter with the suspect.

Late Tuesday, the IJCHR in the reissued statement called on the Government to, along with the parliamentary Opposition and leaders of the various sectors, draft a national crime prevention and suppression plan.

“We need to understand that unattached youth, youth at risk, and the like are not the only source of violence. Criminal organisations involve the top, middle and bottom of society and include networks of experts who facilitate and provide the demonstrated capability,” the IJCHR said.

It said the plan must include, among other things, the use of artifical intelligence (AI) and modern technology, strengthening of the information and intelligence gathering and forensic capacities of the police, extensive installation and use of surveillance equipment, and a focus on improving the response time whenever there are reports of criminal activities.

According to the IJCHR, “It is time to rethink, recalibrate and adopt new approaches to this intractable problem which must include the protection of human rights, civil liberties fairness, equity and accountability.”

It noted that while the magnitude of Jamaica’s crime problem is reflected in the number of murders recorded annually, this was not always so.

“In 1962, the year we attained Independence, 62 persons were killed, a rate of less than 4 per 100,000 persons. In 2020, 1,498 murders were reported, a rate of 53 per 100,000 persons. In 2023, the number declined to 992, a rate of 28 per 100,000 persons, or seven times higher than in the year of our Independence,” the IJCHR said while it argued that “in this environment constitutional rights, including the right to life, security of person, freedom of movement, sanctity of homes are being constantly eroded”.

“The council calls for leadership of unity, inclusiveness, and foresight so as to give meaning to Jamaica’s National Vision Statement: Jamaica, the place of choice, to live, work, raise families and do business,‘ a safe space of peace, fairness and harmony in which to thrive and grow, a commitment to country,” the IJCHR added.