Dear Editor,
The recent spate of crime has caused many to ask the question, what devil is amidst us? My fellow Jamaicans, the answer to that question is the person in the mirror. Crime flourishes in a nation only when its citizens refuse to help the police. The Jamaican public is indoctrinated with the philosophy that if one helps the police he or she is an informer and therefore deserves to die. With such a mentality, we shouldn't be surprised that so much crime goes unsolved.
In any modern society, regardless of how much technology is available to the police, they still need the help of each and every citizen to fight crime. Based on what I have been reading in the paper, I am left to think that the people at large believe that it is solely the Government's job to fight crime. Those with such a belief need to ask themselves a few simple common sense questions. Who lives in the neighbourhoods where crimes are perpetrated? Who are the witnesses to crimes and are refusing to come forward to help the police? Who do you think the Government works for?
Crime in Jamaica will be reduced only when we stop hating the police and recognise that to do so is to hate ourselves.
There is no doubt that there are corrupt officers in the force who need to be removed, but I am sure that will happen in due time. That, too, will take the assistance of the public. It is time for the Jamaican public to recognise that in any society around the world, the public is always more informed than the police when it comes to crime, and that is why police around the world rely so heavily on people to come forward. However, here in Jamaica, we seem to hate the police more than we hate crime; therefore we embrace criminality by not helping the police. Stop preaching hate for the police and start loving yourselves enough to do the right thing, and that is to despise criminality so much that regardless of who the perpetrators are, you are courageous enough to report it. If we refuse to act, we must then be ready to face the demon in the mirror.
Brian O Lynch
briano.lynch@yahoo.com
What devil is amidst us?
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The recent spate of crime has caused many to ask the question, what devil is amidst us? My fellow Jamaicans, the answer to that question is the person in the mirror. Crime flourishes in a nation only when its citizens refuse to help the police. The Jamaican public is indoctrinated with the philosophy that if one helps the police he or she is an informer and therefore deserves to die. With such a mentality, we shouldn't be surprised that so much crime goes unsolved.
In any modern society, regardless of how much technology is available to the police, they still need the help of each and every citizen to fight crime. Based on what I have been reading in the paper, I am left to think that the people at large believe that it is solely the Government's job to fight crime. Those with such a belief need to ask themselves a few simple common sense questions. Who lives in the neighbourhoods where crimes are perpetrated? Who are the witnesses to crimes and are refusing to come forward to help the police? Who do you think the Government works for?
Crime in Jamaica will be reduced only when we stop hating the police and recognise that to do so is to hate ourselves.
There is no doubt that there are corrupt officers in the force who need to be removed, but I am sure that will happen in due time. That, too, will take the assistance of the public. It is time for the Jamaican public to recognise that in any society around the world, the public is always more informed than the police when it comes to crime, and that is why police around the world rely so heavily on people to come forward. However, here in Jamaica, we seem to hate the police more than we hate crime; therefore we embrace criminality by not helping the police. Stop preaching hate for the police and start loving yourselves enough to do the right thing, and that is to despise criminality so much that regardless of who the perpetrators are, you are courageous enough to report it. If we refuse to act, we must then be ready to face the demon in the mirror.
Brian O Lynch
briano.lynch@yahoo.com
What devil is amidst us?
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