Beverley Anderson -Manley
"Many more will have to suffer, many more will have to die" (Bob Marley)
AT THE annual conference of the Jamaica Labour Party in December of last year, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding announced what he referred to as "not just another committee that is going to study crime and the causes of crime". What distinguishes this group is that "they are going to be asked to identify the resources that are required and where those resources must most effectively be applied". In addition, the group will provide a "blueprint that will put the police ahead of the criminals and put the criminals where they belong - behind bars".
It is an expert group which is headed by former Jamaica Defence Force Officer and former Commissioner of Police, Colonel Trevor MacMillan, and includes Dr. Henley Morgan, management consultant and public administration specialist, along with Dr. Anthony Harriott, noted criminologist and university lecturer.
This is January 2006. By the end of 2005 the murder rate had reached just below 1,700. Four years ago in August, 2001, when the murder rate had reached alarming proportions of 1,139 for the year, representatives of the Government and the Opposition met, and as a result of that meeting a "committee was commissioned to look into the circumstances leading to the high rate of crime and violence in the country and to make recommendations to improve the situation". (Report of the National Task Force on Crime and Violence).
CRIME COMMITTEE
The National Committee on Crime and Violence headed by then National Security and Justice Minister K.D. Knight did excellent work. Its members included Col. Trevor MacMillan and Dr. Henley Morgan both of whom are members of the group announced by Mr. Golding. Both political parties were represented.
The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition at Vale Royal in 2002 considered the committee's report. Somewhere in between the original report and the modified report, the recommendation to do with an action plan was deleted. Mr. Golding's group will address this issue.
We watch in horror the high levels of murder in our country, making Jamaica what is described as "the murder capital of the world" with 634 murders per 100,000 of the population. We seem to be running around in circles like the proverbial cat that has lost its tail. But we are dealing with life and death.
Jamaicans are tired of the high levels of murder in our society. Few families have not experienced some crime drama. Like Bob Marley, we continue to plead, "(How) many more will have to suffer, (how) many more will have to die? Don't ask me why".
LESS TALK, MORE ACTION
We are involved in a wrong conversation about crime and violence. We need to shift the conversation. The same conversation gives similar if not the same results.
How about a conversation within which leaders in both the private and public sectors; leaders at the level of the communities; members of the police force, crime perpetuators and their accomplices; those who are colluding in anti-social activities begin to talk about what they know. It cannot be beyond us to create an atmosphere within which we can have these authentic conversations. We need conversations that are not an end in themselves but powerful and effective conversations that lead to action. We need to begin by telling what we know.
At a minimum, credibility demands acknowledgement and taking responsibility for our actions. This kind of action makes a difference, and could create the 'tipping point' necessary to create law and order in Jamaica.
It is said that human beings only change their behaviour when they can detect how the change will benefit them. We have to build an atmosphere that discredits unlawful behaviour of whatever type, and one that rewards decent, law-abiding activity.
No more crime committees, please. Let us face this monster squarely. Tell the truth that we know. We will not fall off the world. Instead, the rewards will be beyond our wildest imaginings.
Beverley Anderson-Manley is a broadcaster, transformation trainer, gender specialist and political scientist. Email: Bmanley@kasnet.com.
