With the country seemingly on a move to match its record of nearly 1,700 murders in 2005, more and more Jamaicans continue to focus on crime and violence as the worst problem facing the island.

This was the finding of the most recent Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll which was done less than two weeks before tomorrow's local government elections.

Over 1,400 people have been murdered in 11 months - over 350 of them since September. Among them have been four policemen murdered in the last week, including an assistant commissioner of police who was gunned down in Irish Town, St. Andrew, last Thursday.

More share this view

The poll which surveyed 1,008 residents islandwide, and which was conducted on November 24 and 25, shows that close to three quarters of Jamaicans or 63 per cent feel crime and violence is the country's worst problem, seven per cent more than in August prior to the September 3 general election.

Similarly, more people think the country is going in the wrong direction, with 56 per cent sharing that feeling.

At the same time, 15 per cent of Jamaicans are concerned about the rising cost of living and inflation, up from a mere three per cent in August. The price of basic food items such as flour and rice have skyrocketed in recent weeks. So too, the price of petrol, electricity, among other items.

Army needed

In terms of solutions to the crime problem, "the army has to come out now," says Roman Catholic priest, Monsignor Richard Albert.

"The army has to be deployed in hot spot areas; the army has to be deployed on the streets so that people can feel a sense of security," he adds.

"Maybe we need the U.S. marines in certain hot spots, assisted by the army," an impassioned Monsignor Albert told The Gleaner.

He says while the country's crime rate cannot be cleaned up overnight, there are short-term strategies that can be applied now. He says foreign assistance should be sought and the authorities should consider suspending certain human rights in particular communities.

Human rights lobbyist, Yvonne McCalla-Sobers, says while curtailing people's rights might not be a solution, improving the relationship between citizens and police will certainly improve cooperation with the police and yield more information.

"The problem between the people and the police will not be solved by more militarising. It's already very military," she says.

"What we need for the people is a greater sense of justice that we are being treated according to law. I believe that can start almost immediately," she adds.

Lana Finnikin, founding member of Sistren Theatre Collective, a women's organisation that works closely with inner cities, says Jamaicans need to make a sacrifice.

"Bob Marley said some of us will have to die for some of us to live, but how many of us are willing doing this?... It's time for us Jamaicans to take a stand and be counted. No matter how many social programmes we have they not going to work until we all decide to stand up for ourselves," she says.