FURTHER TO Wednesday's business sector-led anti-crime rally and Emancipation Park Declaration, we fully endorse the call for the establishment of a Police Oversight Authority to monitor and report on performance, ensure accountability and advise on the administration of the contracts of the Force.
Essential to the country's ability to fight crime must be a professional police force that is answerable to an organisation independent of itself. The establishment of such an authority would go a far way in freeing up those members of the Force who are committed to doing the professional job they were hired to do.
Additionally, the call for the political parties to disassociate themselves from criminals or the acceptance of any financial or other support from criminals is an important step in the move towards greater accountability.
True, there are aspects to the Emancipation Park Declaration that need to be ironed out and in some respects it may be more idealistic than practicable. However, Members of Parliament need not quibble over the semantics of defining garrisons. The sociological understanding of garrison culture is fairly well-established in Jamaica by now. So there need not be any great debate as to what is meant by the call. It is equally true that the communities so labelled did not develop their enclave, siege-like mentality or modus operandi overnight, and any effective dismantling can't be done either in a few weeks or a few months.
But a commitment on the part of the political representatives to defuse the tensions and break down the barriers that foster the culture will go a far way in encouraging a wholesome citizenry. Of course, this culture is not exclusively politically-based, but as representatives around whom a lot of the community life revolves, they have enormous influence and responsibility.
We note that the general secretaries of both major political parties have declined to comment specifically on the business leaders' call, opting to await a meeting of their parties' senior officers among themselves and then with their political opponents.
That's fair enough. But they should also know that the society is impatient of equivocation, the blame game and procrastination. We cannot continue in the same vein we have these past 30 years. It is time to break the cycle.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
