I have been listening to the discourse in the media, among intellectuals and the little man on the street daily and the truth is that the band aid incursion into Tivoli Gardens (TG) will not rid the country of criminality.What is happening for sure is the scattering of TG seeds all over Jamaica which had happened before in a more subtle way by what was dubbed hot spot policing which centered on cleaning Jamaica’s neocolonialist power in Kingston.
Criminal CEOs are going to find new areas to develop new business ventures all over Jamaica which is where the nightmare comes in. In some rural towns as far away as in Westmoreland there are more criminals and guns than you can ever imagine.
Now this TG/Kingston action is driving criminal seed dissemination to areas outside Kingston and St Catherine which must be made made infertile to inhibit further growth.
There must be a national plan to deal with crime insulation for vulnerable rural areas, towns and districts through active policing,community and mass education through churches, schools, media, community groups, existing neighborhood watch groups etc.
Some countries remain relatively crime free societies by having economies that provide security and jobs for most of the population, whose parliaments do not have persons charged with criminal offenses, severely tainted political representatives and cannot be called Criminals’ Paradise like Jamaica.
A wholistic approach has to be taken so that dons and assorted criminals do no replace government agencies and effective governance in socially and economically deprived communities island wide. The piecemeal approach will not work and we should not get caught up in this Dudus/TG euphoria which has taken over from popular soap operas. The discourse should be mainly focused on saving a nation and real action is needed if we are to reduce or eliminate the garrison phenomena.
A part of the curriculum of basic, primary and secondary schools must be dedicated to defining crime, recognizing it, how it affects the individual and country and the role of citizenship in preventing crime. Do you remember civics that is not a specific subject anymore.
Today many Jamaicans are criminals, from the upper class through the dishonest middle class intellectual ‘chatocrats’ down to the lowest. The trouble is that for many, criminal thought and action, have become so normal that they glorify master criminals and see them as role models to die for.
The definition of crime that I use is, any behavior that attracts a fine or imprisonment under Jamaican law so people can check and police themselves.
Michael Spence
[email protected]
About Mark Lee
Mark Lee has been a long-time journalist writing, editing and producing in print, radio television and new media.
