REACTION TO the killing of three policemen and a security guard ran the gamut yesterday from rage and condemnation to firm resolve to end once and for all, the threat such killers pose to national security.
The tone of the correspondence in this edition may be summed up in a phrase, "enough is enough", along with calls for public support of the police. We have frequently canvassed some of the social circumstances that spawn criminal gangs steeped in the gun culture which threatens the state of law and order.
In the wake of the killings, however, most persons will demand strong police and/or military action, insisting quite rightly that the priority must be to find the killers and bring them to justice. This requires diligent detective work supported by intelligence, and the information which must come from sources who will support the police, not having been involved with wrongdoing.
One potential source surfaced in recent weeks with the formation of 'Mother in Crisis', a group dedicated to rescuing mothers whose children have been trapped in criminal activity. Last Sunday's Gleaner disclosed the massive support the group has won with responses literally coming in from around the globe from Jamaican mothers living, for example, in Australia and Israel.
Doreen Billings, who spearheads the group, has said the massive response is straining the available resources to offer help to mothers in distress. We strongly endorse her plea for help from the private sector or any other like-minded agencies. Already, police officers from parishes across the island have pledged support, for this is also a part of the fight against crime.
We are not here advocating that 'Mother in Crisis' become a network of 'informers', the dreaded term that may invite violent reprisal. But in the soft approaches of a group dedicated to rescue mothers in distress because of crime, it is possible to tackle one of the basic roots of crime, for many of the youngsters who now threaten the rest of society with criminal activity are products of dysfunctional homes and victims of deprivation.
In such cirumstances, it is generally conceded that the battle which the society must wage will be lengthy, a factor conceded by Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields, the Scotland Yard expert now helping the cause. We must win the war, however long it takes.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
