The Editor, Sir:

The Gleaner of October 30 somehow hints at a critical part of Jamaica's crime solution in the article 'Crime: the strategy', but, somehow, did not take the point to its logical conclusion. The composition of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is 8,500 members, the Island Special; Constabulary Force (ISCF) with 1,700 members, the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) with 4,000 members and 1,700 district constables (DCs).

Ironically, Jamaica, at this juncture, has three army officers at the helm of its security arms, with Colonel Trevor MacMillan as the Minister of National Security, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin as the Commissioner of Police, and Major General Saunders, Chief of Staff of the JDF.

The JDF, in the context of Jamaica in the 21st century, is a grand waste of time and money.

I took the opportunity to browse their website and even their mission statement indicates how irrelevant the JDF is: "To provide military capability to deter and/or defeat threats against the Jamaican state and/or its interest."

Sick joke

What a sick joke! Is there any real or even perceived external threat against Jamaica? What has the JDF done, in the last 25 years, to protect Jamaica from invasion of foreign forces?

Here is a hint, JDF. Take a look at the grave and chronic crime situation in Jamaica and 4,000 members are paid to march up and down Newcastle and Moneague and spend all the time massaging the egos of superiors with salutes and so forth. Jamaica is at war - from the inside!

The enemy is within. Here is my solution. Combine the JDF, JCF, ISCF and DCs into one Jamaica Constabulary Force.

This will give a combined total of 15,900 which essentially doubles the existing police force. The police commissioner, in a speech to the Rotary Club of Kingston, indicated a drive to grow the JCF to 12,000.

Significant improvement

This would add another 3,500 to this total for a grand total of 19,400. This would give a security presence which would blanket Jamaica, resulting in significant improvement in crime detection and prevention.

Those in the know will remember how New York City moved from being one of the most crime-ridden cities in the US to one of the safest per capita.

The same strategy was adopted by Mayor Rudy Giuliani with an aggressive recruitment drive in the 1990s.

Here is the beauty of this plan. Firstly, it might not cost the government $1 more. Why? The entire cadre is already on the government payroll!

Secondly, the three army officers can easily get the synergy right, given their similar backgrounds. Minister MacMillan, do you have the courage?

I am, etc.,

ANTHONY SAMUELS

Nuh.linga@yahoo.com