THE EDITOR, Sir:OVER THE years I have had the unfortunate experience of being the victim of crime on at least five occasions. I've been robbed at gunpoint on two occasions. My home has been burgled on three others. All crimes have been reported to the police, yet none of the crimes have been solved and not one of the perpetrators has ever been brought to justice. On the last occasion when my home was robbed, the fingerprint team took five days to arrive to check for prints, leaving ample opportunity for my employee to remove them before the team arrived. My employee was not interviewed, nor was any other individual who may have witnessed the crime. The police made no attempt to locate the object that was used in the burglary to check it for prints or other forensic evidence. The police never took a statement from me.
LESSER CRIMES
The crime became invisible. I never recovered the property that was stolen from me. I believe that murderers are unlikely to be law-abiding citizens at all other times when they are not committing murders. Murderers, I imagine, get emboldened to commit murders when they see that they can get away with lesser crimes.
Part of New York City's successful strategy for reducing their murder rate was an emphasis on prosecuting criminals for petty crimes. As a consequence, petty criminals were placed in the system, fingerprinted and therefore were included in a database. Furthermore, once convicted for a lesser crime, they were taken off the streets and denied the opportunity of committing a more serious crime while incarcerated.
Additionally, they gained access to rehabilitation, which derailed a few from continuing to choose crime once they had served their time and had been released.
As a crime victim, I have experienced a gamut of emotions. I have felt defiled, experienced anger and been rendered insecure and defensive and I have had my confidence eroded in a justice system that has not defended my right to be protected from crime by bringing the perpetrators to justice. Until a problem is quantified, it is difficult to solve.
REGIONAL AVERAGE
The latest data from the World Bank on the quality of Jamaica's rule of law shows that in 2004 the governance index, which measures the effectiveness of the police and the courts as well as the likelihood of crime and violence, was at 43.5 per cent, 22.2 per cent below the regional average and at the second lowest level since 1996.
It is well known that over 10,000 individuals have been murdered in Jamaica over the last ten years. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones that have been left behind. What is less well known however, is how many of those murders have been solved and prosecuted successfully, and how many other crimes have been committed and their outcome.
SOLVING CRIME
Murder is a heinous crime and deserves the attention of the nation. However, a decrease in the murder rate and an improved level of confidence of the nation in the police and the justice system will only occur if ALL types of crimes are solved and successfully prosecuted to a satisfactory standard. That standard can only be obtained if there is transparent audit and accountability on the part of the police force and the justice system.
As a law-abiding citizen, I deserve and expect to be kept safe and to see justice enforced for all crimes - large as well as for small, murders or not - that are committed against me. I am 100 per cent tax-compliant. I am held accountable every day. I do my part for Jamaica. Police and the Justice System, you should do yours.
I am, etc.,
C.J.W. CHEN
cwalterchen@cwjamaica.com
Kingston 6, Via Go-Jamaica
