Crime - time to take stock

Webster Edwards

Imagine living in a city in which the murder rate has decreased year after year and has now reached its lowest point since the year 1970. That's the story coming out of New York. But the decline is even more dramatic when one considers that the number of murders declined from 2245 in 1990 to only 628 in 1998. Or consider that in a city of some seven million persons, only 270 murders have been committed since the beginning of the year. The success of their war on crime is even more spectacular when one recognises that in Jamaica with a population of 2.4 million, some 350 persons have already been killed since the beginning of year 2000.

One can easily experience the new found feeling of safety walking the streets of New York City. That was my experience when I visited that city a week ago. In a city that was once described as the murder capital of the world, homicides are down a whopping 62 per cent compared with 1993. The record shows that other major crimes are also down including rape, burglary and assault. Violent juvenile crime has also reached its lowest level having fallen 30 per cent since 1994.

This dramatic fall in major crimes, has caused a new awakening in urban renewal across the United States. Areas which were once considered too dangerous in which to invest, are now being revitalised. According to a report in last Sunday's edition of the New York Times. "New homes are being built, stores are reopening, subway and bus lines are adding service, and banks and shopping strips are breaking ground.

"For the first time in years, people are sitting on their front porches and parents feel safe letting their children walk to school".

The US city administrators must certainly be doing something which has eluded us here in Jamaica in our fight against crime. The cynics among us will readily conclude that their statistics are suspect, that the method of collating crime information is unreliable, but people are basking in their new found freedom. Having experienced what it means to live in communities which are violence-free, citizens are now co-operating with the police, and are setting up systems to ensure that the spectre of violent crime no longer has a stranglehold on the communities in which they live.

Today, that dream needs to be realised in this country. The answer is not to comfort ourselves with the mistaken belief that other countries are experiencing similar problems. The answer is not to pressure the media to desist from reporting incidents of serious crimes which have been plaguing our various communities like a consistent nightmare. We need to admit that things are simply out of control. When, as the Commissioner of Police has noted in his recent address to the Police Federation, a group of outlaws can openly challenge and hold our security forces at bay in broad daylight on a major thoroughfare of our city, it is time for all citizens to wake up and take stock.

Overcome illiteracy

I believe that crime is one of the principal reasons why so many of our children are unable to overcome illiteracy, in that they constantly live in fear, and their attendance at schools is very often determined by the relative safety existing in their communities.

The time has come when all well thinking persons should involve ourselves in a programme of Citizens United Against Crime. Once established, this programme would work in close collaboration with the various law enforcement authorities, monitoring suspects and reporting on criminal activities occurring in local communities. There are however two major stumbling blocks which could possibly impede the success of this venture. The first is the current distrust which is generally experienced in inner-city communities against members of the police force.

The second is that crime is now regarded by many teenagers as a viable survival option. There is no doubt that crime has become the preferred method of existence within a situation where "nutten nah gwaan". We need to remove this perception and assure them, both by our words and actions, that they have a stake in this little rock which is called home.

Webster Edwards works in the inner city and is Executive Director of Operation Friendship.

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