Dealing with crime requires a patient, fully integrated approach
We dream of a day when Jamaicans will seek not just to deal with criminals but to remove the core reasons for our devastatingly far-reaching problem of violent crime.
It seems to us that front and centre should be a recognition that brutal, violent behaviour in Jamaica did not begin with the intensification of tribalist political violence and the nurturing of the murderous gun culture in the 1960s and 70s, as many choose to believe.
The brutality and violence which taint Jamaica and many of its neighbours have roots deeply embedded in our history of savage chattel slavery, part and parcel of European colonial domination over centuries. The savagery of those experiences dating back to the 17th century, and even before that to the ‘ethnic cleansing’ which devastated the native peoples of the Americas, has triggered extreme anger and resentment, unknowingly passed down from one generation to the next, not only in Jamaica but throughout our geographic region.
We believe anger and resentment which drive the tendency by individuals and groups to lash out as a first resort rapidly facilitated and nurtured the gun culture which today haunts our country.
Obviously, the ease with which guns and ammunition cross our borders is another huge facilitator.
Ignorance, illiteracy, and over-arching poverty in far too many areas of urban and rural Jamaica have made the situation much, much worse.
The truth is that, even as we seek to cauterise crime and violence with the security forces as the vanguard, and to stem the inflow of guns and ammunition, Jamaicans and their leaders must find a way to address the social maladies; including poverty, ignorance, and the pervasive sense of “nuttin nah gwaan fi we…”
It’s not enough to simply threaten people with imprisonment, since for far too many prison is not much worse than the deplorable conditions in which they already live.
We believe that addressing those issues will make the path easier towards a gentler, more peaceful approach to life at all levels, translating to eventual culture change and sidelining of criminals.
In that respect we welcome Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s pledge to make education a vital platform as the country moves forward with the new gun law which involves drastic penalties for illegal possession.
To the extent that children in schools “are properly informed not to take up guns”, as Mr Holness now tells us will be central to the plan going forward, to that extent the evil ‘bigger heads’ who entice and manipulate our children into a life of crime will find it harder to do so.
It will be useful to remember that, as the situation now stands, an uncomfortable number of our teenagers no longer attend school, so that the intervention must take place at all levels of the community, not just school.
At bottom line, amid word of renewed Vale Royal talks, and as the country enters what we hope will be a new phase of greater cooperation in the push to deal with crime, there must be a holistic approach embracing not just law enforcement but integrated social intervention at all levels.
Also, let’s be patient. Violent crime didn’t overtake us overnight; nor will it go away tomorrow. However, if we can stand together as one, we will overcome.