By Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter

AS THE incidence of violent crime spirals, national security officials have been holding closed-door meetings with church leaders to solicit their assistance in curbing the murderous impulse in the society.

Donovan Nelson, communications adviser to National Security Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, confirmed reports that a delegation of government officials and high-ranking police officers has been facilitating talks with clergy.

FAITH IN CHURCH'S ROLE

This collaboration between the Church and State, according to Mr. Nelson, started immediately after the launch of the government's latest crime-fighting initiative, Operation Kingfish, last October.

"From the initial stages of implementing this crime policy, we have always believed that the clergy can play a part in the fight against crime since a lot of the churches are situated in the inner-city communities and church leaders have an influence over those who reside in these communities," said Mr. Nelson.

He added that after the inaugural meeting with the church leaders, at least two other meetings followed, with the latest being held some time this year.

Monsignor Richard Albert, chairman of the Crime Prevention Committee in crime-ridden Spanish Town, has been involved in the consultations with government.

"I endorse (the collaboration) a hundred per cent," Monsignor Albert told The Gleaner. However, he warned that grave danger lurks at the door for all members of the church who decide to answer the ominous call.

"There is a great risk to personal safety and life and we have to be willing to take it ... If that's to be, it has to be," he said defiantly.

The Church, he asserts, has been "too quiet and reserved" in the midst of this "guerrilla warfare that is emerging in our inner-city communities".

In supporting the alliance against crime, the Reverend Rennard White, vice-president of the Jamaica Association of Evangelicals, said, "Pastors are fairly knowledgeable of what is happening in the communities, so any collaboration with the Church will be positive."

Rev. White, who is also a member of the Bishop Herro Blair-led Peace Management Initiative (PMI), said that the collaboration is overdue.

"It is really something that should have been implemented a long time ago," he suggested.

However, another clergyman, the Reverend Devon Dick, pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church, who has also met with national security officials, fears that the fledgling alliance could be relegated to being another nine-day wonder.

"It can work if after the discussions there are follow-up actions. If it is just talk, it doesn't make sense," he said.