Dear Editor,

There have been some brutal murders every year in Jamaica going back several decades, and we can’t seem to implement a crime plan that works.

The usual outrage and sympathies last a few days and life returns to normal until the next murder is reported to once again shake us to the core. The fact that murders are down 18 per cent over last year is of little comfort when the reality tells a different story.

The recent murder of veteran journalist Barbara Gayle and Dr Aung Naing, a medical doctor from Burma who practised in Westmoreland for nearly three decades, happened within days of each other.

The root causes of crime are well documented, with countless studies about the impact of poverty, socio-economic factors, which push people over the edge to become criminals. Crime plans have been ignoring the psychological factors. People don’t become murderers over night. We must ensure that schools, especially, are equipped to be alert with support systems in place to help those crying out for help. As individuals we also have to become more aware about the relationships we form, who we bring into our circle and into our homes, whether family, friends, and/or employees. As humans, we reflect our circumstances and our realities, which influences our behaviour, and unfortunately many are desperate.

Other crimes, such as the Matthew Hyde case, in which an ex-girlfriend was abducted and tortured with a hot iron in his dorm room at The University of the West Indies . How can a young man, seemingly from a decent family resort to such a brutal and vicious act without any consideration of the victim’s pain and how it could impact his future boggles the mind?

Will society be ready to welcome Hyde back 13 years later when his sentence is complete without any form of psychological intervention? I fear he might be worse. Criminals are conditioned, influenced, socialised by their surroundings, and we must try to break through these negative antisocial influences which are detrimental to the future of Jamaica.

We are failing our youth miserably by not providing enough opportunities, especially with education and mental health support. Educated societies are not exempt from crimes, but the risk is much lower.

Mental health issues are real, but it is not treated as the serious illness it is. Many people have become immune to the value of human life and what that might represent. We must try to correct this.

Murder cases should be prioritised and expedited through the justice system. High profile attorneys should refuse to represent murderers, especially when the evidence is overwhelmingly against them. Let the accused fight their case using State lawyers.

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport as well as Ministry of Education must have a voice at the table in any crime plan and there must be input from psychiatrists and psychologists. It is the disenfranchised and disengaged youth who are becoming the most vicious criminals with no purpose or sense of direction; they have no value for human life. Culture and sports can be used to create opportunists and distractions to help bridge the gap due to failures in the education system.

As we embark on a new year, we must demand that government lead an urgent and comprehensive response to fight crime, and we must collectively support these efforts. It can’t be business as usual in 2025.

P Chin

chin_p@yahoo.com