THE EDITOR, Sir:
It must have taken a fair amount of courage for Dr. Peter Phillips to accept stewardship of the security portfolio when he got the call from the Prime Minister late last year. His decision to take on this difficult assignment is especially remarkable when one thinks it was believed by some persons that he would ascend to the presidency of the PNP on the strength of his performance in his prior ministerial posting.
If not downright suicidal, this decision certainly did not have the markings of a shrewd political move, and Dr. Phillips may well pay the price for assuming such responsibility in an election year. But, fortune, it has been said, favours the brave, and in betting his political capital on a solution to the crime problem, Dr. Phillips has surely shown himself brave.
For his courage and because, as Dr. Phillips himself put it, the consequences of failure are too catastrophic to contemplate, I wish him the best of luck. And since I don't expect that luck alone will get the job done, I would also like to share a bit of my own thinking on combating crime in Jamaica. These thoughts have to do with the need for the Minister to re-establish (or establish) the credibility of the Government and its designated agents as having both the will and the power to defeat crime.
Credibility is the primary issue because fighting crime is about instilling the fear of consequences in the minds of would-be perpetrators. The acts of terrorism visited upon the residents of Park Lane and 100 Lane are prime examples of what happens when law enforcement loses its credibility. These atrocities occurred, not so much because the police removed their temporary command post from the area, but because the perpetrators reasoned that, given the state of Jamaican law enforcement, they had a better-than-average chance of evading justice.
The reality is, resource constraints make ubiquitous interventions impossible, and the indispensable attribute of all effective law enforcement agencies is the credibility that deters potential offenders even when there is no agent in sight. Jamaican law enforcement does not enjoy this kind of credibility.
The Minister has outlined an impressive 12-point plan, many elements of which will take time to implement. However, the job of rebuilding the credibility of the security forces can start with targeted actions on an incremental scale. For instance, the Minister could declare major airport access roads, such as Mountain View Avenue, crime-free zones and establish the presence necessary to ensure this. Demon-strating the ability to secure these oft-travelled and oft-troubled routes could begin to send a clear message to the criminal elements in the society who currently seem to feel they can do whatever they please, whenever they please. Similar actions would serve to gradually enervate the presumption of supremacy and impunity most criminals/terrorists now hold.
I agree with the Minister, the struggle will not be won overnight, but the road to victory must necessarily start with restoring the credibility of law enforcement. Should the good minister preside over this restoration, the Jamaican people will be forever indebted to him, and his courage may yet be rewarded with the ultimate political prize.
I am, etc.,
SHELDON LYN
sllyn@hotmail.com
New York City
Via Go-Jamaica
