It takes only a cursory look at the state of crime in Jamaica to see that the police force is making steady progress in bringing down the crime rate, notably murder and other major crimes like rape and robbery.

Yet, if the country is not clicking its heels and drinking Champagne in celebration, no one should be surprised, even if one sympathises with columnist Mr Kevin O’Brien Chang, who bemoaned in this newspaper that “…incredibly, there is almost no national discussion of this, or the sharp drop in murders”.

“The Januslike approach of the Jamaican media to crime is inexplicable. When murders were going up it was constant front page news, with newspapers running daily headline banner counts. Now that homicides are declining, the media is silent,” Mr Chang wrote last month.

“Murders are down 18 per cent from January 1 to September 30 and on track to be under 1,160 by the end of 2024, which would be the lowest annual homicide count since 2014. Rapes are down over 30 per cent. Major crimes are down 14 per cent. But you rarely see these featured in the newspapers, or on radio, or TV. Why the glaring dichotomy?” he asked.

It’s a reasonable question, but we suggest that the answer is reasonably simple. The Government’s disclosure that it has been spending an average of $9.7 billion annually on crime since 2016 — more than any year previously — cannot compete with a headline which blares, “Last week was the bloodiest in Jamaica this year, with 44 murders recorded — the highest for any seven-day period in 2024.”

That is then reinforced by news that five men were shot dead at a football competition/peace get-together in Pleasant Hill, east Kingston on October 21, 2024. If that were not enough, add the three men allegedly murdered by two rogue cops in east Kingston and the six people killed in Waltham Park Road area of St Andrew three days ago.

The point is that the security forces are working harder and the Government is allocating more resources — including a $30-million fund to reward people providing information on criminals — yet the crime rate, uglified by the mass killings, is still too terrifying.

We again suggest that what is missing is the deliberate, sustained bi-partisan approach to crime-fighting by both major political parties, which entails unifying their supporters and the rest of the country behind the police.

It would mean the parties agreeing to take crime out of the partisan political arena in acknowledgement that no single party or Government can defeat the gunmen who are often being shielded by significant sections of the populace.

After the Pleasant Hill massacre, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, his National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, and the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area Mr Phillip Paulwell visited the Rockfort community together.

This approach should not be a one-off action, which seems almost like a personal favour being done to the MP, or is merely tinkering at the edges. That should become the template and precursor to a national assault on crime, the one thing left to do.

Mr Paulwell should educate his colleague, Mr Peter Bunting, about the bipartisan approach, as his criticisms of the Waltham Park Road killings ring hollow.

Once again, we implore the prime minister, the national security minister, and the political parties, let that point the way forward.