THE CALL is going out once again for the imposition of a state of emergency to curb the current high level of serious crime that is threatening to make the nation cower in frustration, if not in hopelessness.
Kingsley Thomas, chairman of the National Housing Trust (NHT), made this call Monday night, arguing that the nature of crime in Jamaica today demands tough and decisive action. We should regard his call as one made out of frustration with the inability of the Government and the security forces to stop the bloodbath, the wanton killing of innocent citizens.
A state of emergency will guarantee no tangible results except for the expected lull - for a few weeks or months in overt criminal activities, while the crime bosses check the lie of the land and review their strategies. It is not the answer to end persistent and pervasive crime that is curtailing citizens' normal activities and is on the verge of destroying the economy.
Numerous proposals and recommendations have been put forward as mechanisms to nab gangsters and racketeers who are responsible for fomenting murders, extortion, armed robberies, kidnappings and other serious crimes in the country.
What is needed is a structured and workable timetable for the implementation of existing recommendations to curb runaway crime in the country, which has claimed the lives of more than 700 people since the start of the year. We must stop the talking. It is time for serious action.
We feel that a state of emergency will do nothing to curb criminality in Jamaica. Do the police, for example, have a credible list of the ring-leaders of these crime gangs and to go with it, intelligence that is strong enough to tie them to the atrocities that day after day drive fear into the hearts of the law-abiding citizenry? In view of the fact that most of
the men on the police 'Most Wanted' list have been on the run for the last several years, how will a state of emergency guarantee their immediate capture?
For the nation to reap any substantial benefits from a state of emergency, the operations undertaken during its duration must be all-encompassing. It did not happen in the 1970s. What we had between June 19, 1976 and June 6, 1977 was essentially the partisan detention of prominent persons, including many from the Opposition.
Something needs to be done urgently about crime. The police need to upgrade their crime detection skills and lessen the individual caseloads, they need to regain the confidence of the public, justice needs to be as sure as it is swift, there needs to be a witness protection programme with integrity and resources, and corruption must be tackled concomitantly.
Fighting crime successfully, like education, cannot happen overnight, cannot happen without the will of the government and the security forces. A state of emergency is not the answer.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
