Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter
DR PETER Phillips, the opposition spokesman on national security, says there is a need for a national mobilisation of all decent law-abiding Jamaicans to fight crime.
"The task is to rescue Jamaica from the clutches of criminality for our sake and the sake of future generations," Phillips said during his contribution to the 2008-2009 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives yesterday.
Phillips said Jamaicans cannot give in to criminals and charged that "we have to respond at all levels".
He proposed that a corps of community safety officers be established to work alongside police in communities. These people, he said, would be civilians of high repute who would patrol and monitor their communities.
Not inviting vigilantes
"We are not inviting vigilante justice; rather we seek to mobilise all who have a patriotic commitment," he said.
Phillips, who served as national security minister from 2002-2007, said politicians on both sides of the political divide must be committed in deed and word to ridding the country of criminality.
"Each of us must begin by ensuring that we are not compromised by connections we may have, that we are unequivocal in our support for law enforcement; that we do not give lip service to bipartisan dialogue while at the same time fanning the flames of political tribalism; that we have the courage to isolate drug and crime bosses who seek coverage under our political umbrella," Phillips said.
More than 700 Jamaicans have been murdered since the start of the year - 198 in the month of May alone. Phillips said the current problems have been long in the making. While saying he was willing to accept his share of the blame, the former national security minister said the administration of which he was a part had done a lot in fighting crime.
He said one of the major contributors to Jamaica's crime problem was the drug trade, proceeds from which had infiltrated many national institutions, among them the security forces and political parties.
daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com
