Dear Prime Minister – Let Us Begin The War on Crime
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
First, please allow us to congratulate and thank you, for your willingness to serve as leader of our country.
The purpose of this letter is to voice concerns about an issue that has been problematic for Jamaicans, and has tarnished our country’s reputation for decades.
“Voices Against Crime in Jamaica” is a Facebook group that consists of over 5,000 active members. This group was created three years ago, as we have seen an increase in murders across our beautiful island. We follow what is happening very closely, and by sharing news stories we are able to engage each other on what we can do together to help bring this matter to light, and to the people that are charged to protect Jamaican citizens.
So far, we have witnessed a surge in crime, particularly homicides, and so at this point the administrators of the group agreed that in order for our voices to be heard, and in order to help ensure the safety of the Jamaican people and returning residents, we must go one step further by attempting to contact our country’s Prime Minister.
We have lost too many Jamaican men, women, young people, and let’s not forget the monument that sits in downtown, Kingston with hundreds of children’s names that have all died as a result of violence. We have grown desperate for quality leadership that we have been unable to deliver for the better part of 54 years since our independence.
If we revisit the crime trends in Jamaica since the election of the 1980s, the numbers have increased with time because we have not done enough to tackle crime. Some might look at the crime in our country as the norm, because of course, crime happens everywhere. But let us examine and compare some statistics to give us a better idea of the seriousness that we are facing. In 2015, in the city of Chicago – one of America’s most violent cities, the annual rate of homicide was approximately 500. With the same population as Chicago with 2.8 million people, in 2015 Jamaica closed out at approximately 1,100 homicides. Do you see that we have doubled the number of homicides in the city of Chicago?
So, who will press the RESET button in Jamaica where crime is concerned, and catch the next generation from inheriting the moral deficit that we now face as a nation? Who, sir, will instill in our society that we regard life, and have compassion for our fellow men? Who will change our reputation as a crime infested society?
Mr. Holness, we hope that you will be the one to bring about this change, for the greater good, by formulating a comprehensive and long-term plan that will help eradicate this wave of murder that we see across our land. For your children’s sake, our children, we hope that you will go down in our history books as the guy who cared enough about the Jamaican people to fix this problem. You have experienced this first hand. We saw the terror in your eyes on the night of your rally in Sam Sharpe Square, when gunmen opened fire causing deaths and injuries. This is reality for many Jamaicans living day to day. They live in fear and wonder who will be next. This is not normal and we should not become so desensitized and accepting of the behaviour of those who continue to disrupt and wreak havoc on society. The murderers, extortionists, dons—we must now put our foot down and set a precedence that echoes,” No more.” We should, together, and as a country, restore social order even if it means to deploy the JDF for as long as it takes until gunmen retreat, and stop the bloodletting of our people. Something fundamental, drastic, strategic, and revolutionary must be done in our crime fighting efforts.
Crime is costing our country close to 4% of GDP, and Mr. Prime Minister we ask that you take into consideration the following proposals herein:
• A full modernization of the police force and the criminal justice system. We are held hostage by ruthless murderers and criminals. We must be prepared to take back our country. The level of homicide and criminality is unbearable and we cannot see true economic growth and development unless we address this problem. Many Jamaicans would like to return home and invest, build their homes, retire, but are afraid to for obvious reasons. We need camera systems, databases, decent police stations, and the necessary crime fighting tools. I understand the tight fiscal situation we face as a country but it is not a question of whether we can afford it, it is something that we cannot afford not to do. We must find the resources, even if it means seeking outside assistance. We must put our pride aside and try. The world, and anyone connected to Jamaica are already aware of what is happening. The world is watching to see what will happen now that we have a new government.
• We are asking you to examine our court system. Swift justice against some of the most heinous acts against humanity is imperative in the fight against crime. We have to make every effort, and extend our efforts to have an adequately functioning justice system. We understand, this will be an uphill climb, but we no longer have the luxury of time.
• Please consider looking into legislation to include hard labour with most custodial sentences so that we can get our prisoners to work, learn a skill, to contribute to their own subsistence and society. This is a vital part of the rehabilitation process so that prisoners can reintegrate into society with better discipline and work ethic after serving their sentence. Our country cannot afford to sustain an unproductive prison system as a burden on the nation’s purse. We must find a way to get some value from convicted criminals who often view going to prison a way to “cool out”. Our agricultural sector, our infrastructure in some areas would do well with some manpower.
• In every society there are people who commit heinous crimes against humanity. These individuals oftentimes have severe personality disorders that cannot be modified. They lack remorse, conscience, and any human emotion that will make them stop and think before they act. They will kill mothers and children. They will kill anyone who crosses their path the wrong way, and for the simplest offense. The reason why we have justice systems across the world and penalties, is to protect the rest of us from these impulsive, heartless, individuals. Jamaica’s justice system is weak, therefore it gives these men the freedom to do what they want without reservations. There are men roaming around in plain view who are known to commit numerous homicides. We cannot have a culture that operates this way. After someone commits one homicide, they automatically become a threat to society and should be found and put away.
Reneto Adams once made a statement that, “we have to find a way to rid the society of these cannibals who prey on innocent people and murder children.” Mr. Adams seems to understand the magnitude of what we are dealing with. When we look at the violence taking place in our schools among young people, some of which are shared on social media, it is blatantly clear that we are living in a society that is too violent. When it becomes the norm for children to be exposed to violence, they become desensitized to it, and when they become young adults they are more likely to commit violent crimes. Mr. Holness, we need a change in culture. We cannot continue to breed violence criminals. So now, the onus is on the powers that be to enforce firm laws and for citizens to change their habit of glorifying and protecting dons.
The music that children are exposed to is another factor here. If you have not done so, please take a moment to listen to how depraved some dancehall lyrics are. Ask yourself this, are you comfortable listening to these lyrics. Then ask yourself what these lyrics must do to our children’s psyche. Parents that reside in the inner-cities have little control and can only protect their children from these awful lyrics so much. In the hills of Kingston, Street parties are prohibited compared to the not so affluent parts of Kingston. Our artistes need to understand that we all have a role to play here and we will no longer tolerate music that poisons our children’s minds. We are all responsible for creating a culture that nurtures children. Some of our parents need to hear that they too must improve the way that they parent. Early childhood is the most important milestone of our children’s lives.
Mr. Holness, our government must take the lead here. We must come together as Jamaicans and cross political aisles to help fix this problem. On the issue of crime, the operations that we do whenever there is a flare up of violence will not solve the issue. Town hall meetings will not solve the issue. We need action and leadership.
We are not expecting magic to happen. We understand that we cannot change destination in the course of seconds, but we can certainly change direction. The diaspora, stakeholders, and the general public are ready to assist and play their role. We await your signal. We await effective resolve from leadership that demonstrates a new way of doing things. A way that is above the corruption, inconsistency, bureaucracy, and mismanagement that has brought our country to its knees. We hope to see your address to our nation via live television after a crime plan has been put in place and ready to be tested. We need to come together and do this. We can and we must. We can no longer be intimidated by soulless beings. We need to return to the tranquility that we were once accustom to.
We know that you can do this and we are behind you. We were hopeful when you acknowledged the high rate of crime that we face when you were campaigning for the office. Please do not fail us, our children, our women, and our young people. The violence has spilled over into our schools. Let us try and fix this before it is too late. We understand that we will still see crime happen, but we can do much better than over 1,000 per year. So far this year we are at 275 homicides. We know that you have a heart, so please, let us do our part with the power that we were given by the people, for as Albert Einstein once said, “the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing.”
On that note, I believe that a modern way of thinking is within us. We are confident that you can double down on the idea of a new day. Please, let us make Jamaica the great nation that it ought to be. We ask that you fire up your cabinet, so that they can put plans in motion, while you get the citizenry on board.
Thank you for reading,
By Voices Against Crime in Jamaica – Administered by: Michelle Bradshaw, Natalee Stack, and Lewin Carr
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