The Editor, Sir:
After reading of the violence being wreaked on the communities of east Kingston and Spanish Town, and the brazen behaviour of these criminals who challenge the police with impunity and who kill and maim any time of the day and night, I have become convinced that the government must take drastic actions against these criminals
The imposition of a limited state of emergency and enlisting the Jamaica Defence Force are
strategies to be used in eradicating this cancer called crime which is destroying our country.
We can no longer afford the
luxury of treating these individuals as unfortunate products of broken homes and a bad economy. These individuals are simply irredeemable bad guys.
It is abundantly clear that these individuals involved in criminal activities will not respond to anything but greater force.
I venture to say that, even if the economy was booming and jobs were readily available, these
individuals would not be seeking employment but would be hustlers, extortionists and drug dealers.
The government needs to call a state of emergency in these
communities, place a blockade around them, and, using the JDF and police, conduct house to house searches for weapons. Individuals suspected of commiting crimes should be detained and questioned.
I am aware these are drastic
measures but I am convinced, along with, I suspect, many of my fellow Jamaicans, that this needs to be done.
These parasites can only be
eradicated by greater force and the time to use such greater force is now as the crime situation shows no sign of abating but is getting progressively worse.
I am, etc.,
PERCIVAL A. CLARKE
Percivalclarke@hotmail.com
