THE PRIME Minister should not really be surprised if a significant number of Jamaicans see nothing new in his radio broadcast comments of what steps the Government is taking to deal with crime and violence in the society.
Calling back to active duty some retired detectives will hardly instil confidence as a measure to deal with a murder rate which is the highest in the world. Every little bit helps, of course, but the PM's response to the present crisis continues to smack of too little, too late.
Even announced implementation of a community programme to provide employment for youths lacks specificity and is something that has been in limbo since the last Budget.
So many so-called new crime-fighting plans have been announced that the Government's credibility has been eroded by the 'cry wolf' syndrome.
As we have urged before, what is needed is a psychological state of emergency on the part of all those charged with governance, a crisis management unit headed by the Prime Minister, charged with pulling together all the elements involved in getting crime under control.
The solution involves more than emphasis on policing and employment. Crucial to any success must be rapid revamping of the justice system and bringing up to date the laws which are necessary to deal with modern criminality, laws long since enacted in the U.S. and Britain.
In light of the clear and present danger, why is it taking so much time to implement fingerprinting, plea bargaining, and RICO legislation, recommendations made by PERF some four years ago?
Why is the present backlog in the criminal justice system apparently accepted as being inevitable? More judges need to be appointed (or imported) on an emergency basis; courts should be set up in rented premises which are immediately available; new rules should be issued to prevent lawyers from employing delaying tactics in the courts.
These are just some of the necessary concomitant tools which the police need if they are ever to get crime under control. Most of them do not involve huge expenditures of funds. But they do call for a culture change. They do call for leadership and political will.
Please, Mr. Prime Minister, in your next radio broadcast, electrify the nation with new thinking, radical reforms and an unmistakable call to action.
Raise your voice in righteous indignation at the crime monster which is tearing our society apart. Then and only then will the spirits of the citizens be lifted and hope rekindled.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
