Post Tivoli incursion , have seen a dramatic increase in crime in Jamaica , which has effectively eroded the gains made by the security force .
Quite predictably , the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) , now the opposition , which had contributed immensely to the problem in the first place , prior to the incursion , has tried to gain political mileage from an issue which has serious implications for this country .
Instead of engaging the PNP in discussion on the issue, in an effort to arrive at consensus ad idem as to the way forward and identify solutions that could solve the problem , they have sought to politicize it and relegated it to a political football .
In the middle of all this, is the Police ‚who have been given the proverbial basket to carry water , with little or no resources to deal with a problem ‚that they, the politicians themselves, unwittingly , might have created and facilitated .
In the context of Jamaica, crime is a complex issue and has deep roots that facilitate its existence. It gains nourishment from the government’s, past and present, relative inability to arrest the deep socioeconomic concerns of the poor working class people of this country. They have instead engaged in a sort of political protectionism of the political élite, seeking more to protect their interest as to “who gets what where and how.”
The solution therefore is quite simple , invest in our social capital , stop unwanted waste of tax payers money facilitate investment in this country and implement transparent mechanisms to prevent corruption which has starved this country of well needed resources .
The question is though, does this crop of politicians have the political will to implement these initiatives to resolve our continued economic stagnation? Your guess is as good as mine.
Errol Mc Leish
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Errol Mcleish is finalizing his studies in Law he hopes to practise law in Jamaica, he also has a wealth of experience in law enforcement matters and is a guest blogger on this site.