The crime situation in Granville, St James which is situated in front of the Granville police station is a case study for how to get paid for talking about a problem for over a decade without implementing workable initiatives.

Granville and the surrounding areas which are suffering at the hands of criminals have all the ingredients to become model communities.

No community policing

The Granville Police Station is no more than two to three miles from the main police station at Freeport, but policing outside the city centre varies significantly. For example, you don't see police patrolling communities on foot, talking and meeting members of the community, in essence getting to know the citizens. The practice is to sit in the station and wait for citizens to call or visit with a report of an incident.

Second, there is a very highly respected institution responsible for training many of Jamaica's educators. Wisdom would suggest that the institution's management and students could undertake projects that redound to the benefit of the communities over the long-term. What is clear is that if this is happening on any scale it's not having the level of success that instils confidence in the people living there.

Third, Councillor Michael Troupe has been lamenting for years and more so in the last two years. Lamentations are appreciated when they are not just that! What is needed in Councillor Troupe's second decade is to lead with creativity, innovation, collaboration and sometimes a little research. There is no serious collaborative and sustained entity forged by community leaders to address the causes of crime. Has there been a community meeting to discuss the effect of the illicit profiteering from the lottery scam, the source of guns, the awareness of local residents, skills training and job creation?

Lottery scam

Where is the mayor, members of Parliament and the private sector? Do Montegonians lack the intellectual depth and commitment to debate responsibly and find solutions to some of these issues or have we all become short-sighted by the ill-gotten gains of the lottery scam instead of good old fashioned morals and values?

I am, etc.,

JOAN BLANC

blancowatto@yahoo.ie

Retirement Phase 2

St James