Dennie Quill, Contributor

Some people could not digest their dinner last Sunday night after watching the gruesome story surrounding the discovery of the remains of another child, killed and dumped in bushes like an animal. I know because I was one of them.

Then, on Wednesday, news broke of the savage sodomy attack on a nine-month-old which resulted in death. Have we gone mad?

There is enough blame to go around, from reckless parents to greed and absenteeism. But crimes against children should be given top priority since they are the most vulnerable among us.

Resume hanging

The Government and Commissioner Lewin should telegraph to the nation their commitment to protecting our children by devising a nationwide strategy to provide rapid, effective investigation response to such crimes.

A few predictable voices calling for the resumption of hanging can be heard every time the criminals unleash another brutal attack on someone. I am here to tell you that it is not going to happen, so let's forget hanging for the time being.

Has all this brutality so sapped our will that we can't think of other solutions? My feeling is that we should put the heat on the 60 members of parliament who ostensibly work for us.

If we ever needed proof that constituents can have an impact on what happens in the House, look at what is happening in America, voters are telling their representatives that they ought not vote for George Bush's economic bailout plan and many of them listened. You may argue that since members of Congress face re-election in a few weeks, this response is in the interest of maintaining power.

But back home, one does not get the impression that parliamentarians are as concerned about the level of criminality as they ought to be. The outrage from Government and Opposition spokespersons usually boils down to a few paragraphs whenever we are faced with examples of vicious killings. That is not enough. During perilous times, words have to be matched by commitment and a plan.

Vengeful mood

Scores of Jamaicans are in a vengeful mood right now. And it falls to us, ordinary citizens, to come up with alternatives. Has the time come for all well-thinking Jamaicans who feel impotent in the face of the overwhelming brutality in our country to march on Gordon House and demand that the 60 MPs pay urgent attention to crime? We have seen how demonstrations have triggered action in so many instances. We have become a nation in which he who shouts loudest gets the best results.

Are the MPs aware of the pockets of criminality that exist in their constituencies? After all, they know where to find delegates for party conferences and voters at election time. So MPs can't fool us into believing they don't know what is happening in their own constituencies. The question, therefore, is how can we pressure these honourable men and women into sharing their knowledge with the police? I know this suggestion will be seen as a huge irritation to MPs who seem to think that crime is a problem for the minister of national security, the police and the criminal justice system. But we are all in this together.

Round them up

Here's another out-of-the-box idea, after we have identified suspects in all 60 constituencies, we round them up and detain them at Up Park Camp for 60 days! I guarantee that there would be a dramatic decline in criminal activity across the length and breadth of our country. During that period, they would be fingerprinted and questioned and their homes searched for weapons. I know human rights advocates are likely to protest such methods as being necessary during times of war only. I ask, isn't that exactly what is happening in Jamaica today?

Commissioner Lewin has already identified the level of ineptitude and corruption in the force and here's how I think this could be countered. The commissioner should identify 20 top officers of the Jamaica Defence Force and install them in key positions in the Jamaica Constabulary force for, say, two years. Again I guarantee that this would have a significant impact on the performance of the force.

If ever there is a time when we need strong, decisive government, it is now.

Feedback may be sent to denniequill@hotmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com.