Another commissioner of police has resigned and the finger-pointing has started. It seems that we are still expecting just one individual to solve Jamaica's crime problem.

Surprise! Surprise! That is not going to happen. One person cannot solve this mess we have found ourselves in. The problem of crime and violence is everyone's problem. It will not be sorted out until we all decide the kind of society we want to live and retire in. We have to fix the fundamental problems of law and order.

Fix the fundamentals

The fundamental problem is that the country has become unlawful and unregulated. Some weeks ago, the mayor of Kingston made an attempt to regulate parking in New Kingston. Many vehicles which were illegally parked by Emancipation Park were towed away.

One evening, as I was walking in the park, I overheard the conversations of many educated professionals as they enjoyed their evening walk. Sadly, the vast majority of them were against attempts to enforce the law. I was appalled and disappointed.

The society accepts the indiscipline and lawlessness, which has now become pervasive. The transportation system breeds lawlessness, indiscipline and abuse of women and children. Lewd music is played on some buses and some persons are driving drunk and under the influence of drugs.

Many towns have descended into anarchy. Last Sunday, I was driving through Half-Way-Tree and I was appalled to see the poor state of the square - people were vending, gambling, smoking weed and playing loud music.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Tipping Point, attributed New York's success in crime fighting to the fact that they fixed the small things. They cleaned up the transportation system and dealt with small violations around the city. In short, they fixed the fundamentals. One cannot control a large fire if one cannot deal with the sparks.

A culture of crime

The culture of crime and violence is deeply entrenched and pervasive. Criminal activities are supported and facilitated in far too many communities. Criminals are supported in their communities; the popular music glamorises criminal activity, and the wider society condones many activities not normally accepted in modern, civilised societies.

Too many unplanned communities

Approximately half of our population resides in unplanned settlements. These unplanned communities are disorganised and have become havens for anti-social behaviour and hotbeds for criminal and gang activities. We need to spend less time and resources fighting crime and focus more on the development of these communities.

Politics, crime and dons

It is well known that in some communities gunmen and dons have aligned themselves to political parties. We recall that a decade ago, it was fashionable for politicians to attend the funerals of dons and gunmen. This practice may have stopped, but there is still a strong association between criminal elements and the political parties. It may be difficult for the political parties to prevent infiltration of its ranks by criminal elements, as these are real people who live in our communities. However, the parties must make a greater effort to dissociate themselves from criminal elements.

Dr Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and head, Section of Psychiatry, Dept Of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, 977-1108. Email: yourhealth@ gleanerjm.com.