Toward reducing crime
Dear Editor,
“Fear follows crime, and is it punishment.” — Voltaire
According to police statistics, 1,350 Jamaicans were murdered in 2016. Despite the downward trend of other crimes, such as rape, aggravated assault and robbery, the murder rate for the island has been rather troubling to say the least.
Sadly, successive governments have been unable to address the island’s spiralling crime rate. According to police data, the murder rate in 2016 was an 11 per cent increase over 2015.
Yet, despite the doom and gloom, there was a bright spot for the community of August Town which recorded zero murders in 2016. The environs of August Town at one time had a reputation of crime and violence, so much so that people were afraid to venture into the area. A number of stakeholders at the time thought it appropriate to invest their time and money in order to transform what was once considered a crime-ridden area.
In 2008, a peace agreement was signed and the fruits of that agreement were realised eight years later, in 2016, which saw zero murders. There are many lessons from this blueprint. This transformation has shown us that there is no community in Jamaica which cannot be saved and changed into a peaceful and law-abiding settlement. The August Town model must be replicated across all those areas which are constantly being plagued by murders in which people live in fear and in which public play areas are empty of the voices of children having fun.
Clearly, the success in August Town was not achieved by the wave of a magic wand. The collaborative efforts of the citizenry, Government through social intervention programmes, The University of the West Indies, as well as the Peace Management Initiative, all played a part in achieving this accomplishment. We cannot underestimate the power of citizen participation and involvement in the fight against crime. Our security forces need to invest more time and resources in building trust and engaging in collaborative efforts if as a society we are going to win the war against crime and violence.
In the words of Bobby Scott, “We can play politics, or we can reduce crime.”
Wayne Campbell
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo