Peter Bunting spent most of his time thrashing Police Officers while his party was in opposition . He attended many functions where he berated the police force. As shadow minister for national security, he didn’t bother to spend time developing a strategy that would further the process of crime suppression and elimination in the country of 2.7 million people . In fact, Bunting was in the forefront of his leader’s brigade that now forms the government, they voted not to give the security forces the time and powers they needed to consolidate the gains after they liberated Tivoli Gardens.
Photo courtesy of the Jamaica Observer.
Yesterday Peter Bunting told the country that his party, the People’s National party will win a significant portion of the parish council seats in local government elections constitutionally due in March.
Why is this important ?
Peter Bunting just happen to be the country’s national security minister. As we predicted when his party was returned to office after a short 4 year stint in opposition, crime would head right back upwards . Word on the streets is, and always was, that his party is highly tolerant of crime. People feel they can run with whatever they are into, “eat a food”. After Tivoli Gardens was annexed to Jamaica, crime trended southward to the tune of 40% over the corresponding period of previous year/s. Jamaica recorded an average of 1600 murders annually up to the time of the Tivoli take-back. Crime trended down and remained at 40 % lower untill The PNP took office. Now it is far from comforting that we could crow about a 40% reduction in crime when we have 1600 homicides reported each year . On the one hand it is great that 640 less Jamaicans have been killed whilst on the other it is heart rending that 960 people were slaughtered, in a country with a population of only 2.7 million people.
Bunting yesterday announced that 165 Jamaicans have been slaughtered since the start of this year. That 165 homicides, is over a period of 51 days. That number translates into an average of 3.24 Jamaicans killed daily as far as police knows. Anyone who know Jamaica will probably argue that those numbers represent the tip of the iceberg.
Today we are told that the government of Portia Simpson Miller wants to bring crime down to first world levels by 2017.
WHAT ARE CRIME LEVELS OF FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES ?
Switzerland is a first world country : In 2010 Switzerland recorded 53 homicides, population at the time 7,554,661.
The United States is a first world country: in 2010 The United States recorded 14,748 homicides, population at the time 308,745,538.
During the late 1980 to early 1990’s the United States saw as much as 24,000 homicides at the zenith of the drug wars, since then crime has trended downwards to 14,748 in 2010.
I picked these two countries because if we take out the disparity in population size they represent two countries most people would argue are stable countries where people want to live.
So which first world country is the government of Miller referring to? The year 2017 is 5 years away , at the rate of an annual 1,600 homicides, are they suggesting that they are willing to see 8,000 people slaughtered before they take action?
This government is the epitome of incompetence. Not only do they give criminals the feeling that with them anything goes, they actually cement that mindset by having no plan to combat crime. Those who argue that this mindset is not prevalent on the streets are disingenuous and the truth is not in them. Any person may carry out their own generic poll to verify these facts on the streets of any city , in any village in the country.
Like anyone else police officers are entitled to their political views, however many serving members of the JCF joined the licky licky masses and voted this incompetence into being , subsequently they share in the continued destruction of our country , even as former rigid dictatorships are shaking off the mantle of political oppression and embracing freedom and the promise of the twenty first century.