MUCH OF the grief from the persistent violence in this nation is caused by the bloodshed spilled by illegal guns.
But there is grief too from carnage on the roadways this from another category of illegality: careless and dangerous use of the road.
The wrongdoing in both categories is poles apart, but the sorrow of survivors differs only in the feeling about what motivated a killing or induced a fatal accident.
In either circumstance the cold statistics are similar and stark, ciphers reflecting the end of useful or wasted lives.
The latest figures available to us from police blotters show a murder toll of some 619 which does not reflect a significant surge compared with the same period last year. Indeed the recovery of weapons now at 373 since the start of the year is a marked improvement over the 274 recovered at this stage last year.
Even so we do not get the sense that the Prime Minister's declared intention on election night to get rid of the guns is any nearer that optimistic objective.
Similarly with the toll of carnage on the roads the figures show some improvement. Up to August 27 there were 229 killed in 203 accidents. This compares with 249 fatalities in 229 accidents for the same period last year.
These figures may be influenced by one of the latest shifts in police strategy to counter the mobility of criminal gangs who use rural highways in fleeing from Kingston, for example. Police chases on such highways may pose more than the normal dangers. Apart from that, improvements in highway surfaces seem to invite faster and more reckless driving habits.
Regardless of what the statistics indicate the impact of criminal gun battles and the periodical carnage on the roads heighten the sense of crisis that bloodshed can induce. Persistent violence tends to give the lie to crime plans seemingly in perpetual revision.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
