Sociologist Hermione McKenzie said in order to break the psyche of violent crimes in Jamaica it was important that the social fibre of the country was repaired, to the extent where there was not such an enormous division between the rich and the poor.

McKenzie said proper housing for the poor, education and employment opportunities were all important factors in the fight against crime.

"Inequality and perceptions of inequality are very critical in affecting aggressive and violent behaviour," she told the audience on Tuesday during the Fulbright-Humphrey Alumni Speaker Series, titled 'Where is the Love? Breaking the Psyche of Violent Crime in Jamaica', held at the PCJ Auditorium in New Kingston.

She continued: "The inequality of the environment is very critical. In other words, people are living in one sort of situation and they see how other people live."

Improve living conditions

The former university lecturer said it was important that the living conditions of the poor, especially those in urban neighbourhoods, were improved for the country to move forward.

She argued that Jamaica would not achieve developed country status by 2030 with the extremely poor living conditions that now existed in inner cities.

"I think that's symbolic of the tremendous divisions in the society. We still have very fragile social integration," McKenzie said.

She further said the division was also present in the education arena, as there was still an obvious disconnect between what was considered "elite schools and the run of the mill schools in Jamaica".

"We have to, regardless of our economic problems, improve the education and employment opportunities of our citizens," she argued.

McKenzie further argued that Jamaica was becoming an unfeeling society where individuals no longer cared about each other.

"One of the difficulties that affect violent behaviour is the lack of care by other people. An unfeeling society, that is just blank, that doesn't see or feel the problems of other people," she said. "There is a need for social care, for adequate social services."

Crime over the years has continued to be one of Jamaica's most significant social problems. With some 1,600 murders last year, the country is considered one of the most violent nations in the world.

Anthropologist Dr Herbert Gayle said Jamaica had been in the top five most violent countries since 2004.

"We have been under close supervision by Interpol and Europol since 1997," he informed.

Gayle, who specialises in social violence, said every six hours someone was murdered in Jamaica, the bulk of which were young men.

"When you look at the homicide rate we are now at two civil wars in one country," he said.

He, however, said that the problem was not unique to Jamaica, as the Caribbean now had about eight of the most murderous countries among the top 20 in the world.

These include Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas and St Kitts.

Despite the statistics, Gayle said Jamaica had not reached the stage of having a culture of violence.

"That theory does not apply. It still bothers us when people die. We're not numb yet," he said.

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com