Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
Professor Archie McDonald
A PROFESSOR at the University of the West Indies has called for a 'zero tolerance' approach to fighting crime in Jamaica, arguing that it has worked in first world countries.
Professor Archie McDonald of the department of surgery made the call yesterday, as a panellist at the Gleaner Editors' Forum on crime at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. He said local law enforcement must take a page out of the books of their counterparts in major American cities such as Boston and New York City.
Their 'take-no-prisoners' approach, Professor McDonald stressed, reduced crime and unsocial behaviour drastically.
He noted that community policing, which was championed by former police commissioner Francis Forbes during the 1990s, was a noble concept but had not done enough to make Jamaica a safer place.
"Community policing did a lot to reduce crime in New York but equally important was the zero tolerance policy implemented by Mayor (Rudy) Guiliani," he explained. "In Jamaica we continue to ignore indiscipline and minor crimes - we need to restore order to our streets by prosecuting individuals for minor crimes such as traffic offences and illegal vending."
SUCCESSFUL INSTANCES
He added: "It is shown in several areas in the United States that the murder rate declines when order and discipline are restored in society. It occurred in New York, Philadephia and Boston."
Another panellist, psychologist Dr. Leahcim Semaj, based his presentation on the waning presence of strong male figures in Jamaican society. This, he said, was putting pressure on mothers, many of whom are single parents, and leaving children crying out for a father figure.
He pointed to the Jamaican male's weakening academic performance as a yardstick for their declining role in the home.
"The year 1981 was the last time more males graduated from the UWI than females - 1988 was the last time more males graduated from UTech than females," he reported. "When the female is denied access to means of production she uses sex as a compensatory method. When males are denied access to means of production they become parasites - 'wha'pen, big man, wey yuh can do fi mi'. And when the parasite becomes stronger they become predators."
Other speakers at the forum were Dr. Elizabeth Ward, director of disease prevention and control at the Ministry of Health; paediatrician Dr. Maureen Samms-Vaughn; UWI professor Barry Chevannes; and Monsignor Richard Albert, the Roman Catholic priest who has worked in inner-city communities for nearly 30 years.
