Dear Editor,

The solution to Jamaica’s crime problem does not lie in more policing, bigger guns for the police, or even in more social work.

While all these do indeed have an effect on crime in Jamaica, they only affect the symptoms of crime and not the root cause of crime.

I posit that the solution to crime in Jamaica is more Christian parents and more Christian parenting. I say this because I recognise that the family is the basic unit of our society. If children are taught the tenets of the
Bible by Christian parents from an early age, I guarantee a society with very little, and possibly no crime at all.

In Jamaica today the majority of parents, both rich and poor, do not send their children to Sunday or Sabbath school. The children do not know the standard Bible stories like David and Goliath, the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, the parting of the red sea, etc. And they do not know Bible verses like John 3:16.

Yet it has been my experience that these same children know all the crass lyrics of the songs by Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killer, and Beenie Man. When questioned as to how they know the lyrics so well, the children declare that their parents — both rich and poor — play these songs around the clock in their hearing .

It is possible that we have already lost our present generation. Let’s save the next generation with proper Christian parenting!

Barry Williams

barrygwilliams@gmail.com