THE EDITOR, Sir:
WHERE ARE citizens to find security? We are in crisis when men and women, in particular the most vulnerable in the society - children, the elderly, and the disabled are killed at a rate that ranks among the highest in the world. We are in deeper crisis when the police, society's protectors from crime, turn their guns on the public, and we are in dire crisis when robbers turn their guns on the police.
Twelve-year-old Janealle Blair from Old Harbour was viciously raped and killed after she took a taxi in the early afternoon; 10-year-old Renee Lyons from Majesty Gardens was killed by a policeman firing at a man with a spliff. A grandmother and her disabled grandson were two of 17 people killed by the gun in the latest upsurge of violence on Mountain View Avenue. Corporal Headley Davis was gunned down in front of his wife when he walked into a hardware store while a robbery was in progress.
The impact of Minister Peter Phillips's January 2002 crime plan, and his November 2002 crime initiative, is yet to be felt. The recommendations of the National Committee on Crime and Violence are yet to be implemented. The large numbers who experience violence at first or second-hand, or who live in fear of violence, urgently need to see signs that the minister is on top of his portfolio. FAST calls on Minister Phillips to show citizens the steps that he is implementing to enable ALL to:
Feel relatively safe where they live, work, travel or visit.
Feel confident that the police force is equipped (with investigative capacity and moral authority, not just the hardware of war) to serve, protect, and reassure the public.
Feel confident that the law-abiding have no fear of being locked away, and the law-breakers know they will be caught and punished.
Feel assured that the relationship between the public and the police is based on mutual respect so the norm is citizen-police co-operation rather than absence of support or even hostility.
Families of Janealle, Renee, and Headley need the relief of seeing just resolution to these cases. Other citizens need some certainty that they and their loved ones will have a peaceful and timely end to their lives.
I am, etc.,
YVONNE MCCALLA SOBERS
Chairman
Families Against State Terrorism
asante@colis.com
