Despite national statistics, the crime and corruption situation in Jamaica is at an all-time high. To be sure, we have always had criminals and corrupt people walking the corridors of power and leaders who have enabled them. That is not new. However, it’s the first time in my lifetime I’ve seen so much total disregard for the laws of the land, coming from the highest offices of public trust in the country.
It is leaders who shape culture. When leaders openly undermine the law and established structures of the society, the general population takes it as the new norm. No serious society can thrive and develop in an environment of lawlessness and indiscipline. Our all-pervasive culture of indiscipline and lawlessness comes from the top.
To be clear, we tend to blame the police for the high levels of crime in Jamaica. The reality is that the police only get involved in the mix after the crime is committed! Unless of course, they were enablers, as has been the case on occasion.
So, let’s shift the focus, if we are really interested in lasting solutions. Politicians throughout the years have proven totally incapable of getting to the bottom of this scourge on society. Partly because so many of them are conflicted and seriously compromised, and partly because they lack the vision and will to do the right things. We have to find a way to remove the link between the constabulary and the political directorate.
The constabulary force needs revolutionary overhaul while we divorce its direct dependence and links to politicians, certainly when it comes to its administration. We simply cannot depend on our politicians to address crime. They have proven for decades that they lack the ability and will to make the changes needed to create a low crime environment. And the fact is that some are simply too compromised to effect the changes demanded.
The country requires a serious independent body with no political links to take full and final responsibility for the administration of the constabulary and policing across the country.
Any attempt at addressing crime, violence and corruption in Jamaica must be guided by intelligence, research, technology and scholarship. I am sure Jamaica is ranked among the most highly studied countries in the world regarding crime and violence. Unfortunately, all we seem to do is collect reports from studies and file them away. We do not have to do one more study!
The late distinguished psychiatrist and professor, Dr. Freddy Hickling and others, have done seminal research on the subject. Just simply gather all that’s been done over the past decade and muster the national will to do a little thing called implementation. Most of these studies considered the views of community members who have had front row seats to all the criminality and anti-social behaviours in their communities. For God’s sake listen to these people. Let’s make some revolutionary shifts in how we address this plague of crime and corruption in the society. Our ancestors and our offspring will call us blessed.
