NEW YEAR celebrations across the world have been marked in some places by caution and indeed apprehension about terror.In Asia a bomb blast killed four persons in the Philippines, and there were unprecedented security measures in the region. The alert was prompted by the October bombings which killed 192 on the Indonesian island of Bali.
But even where the New Year was marked by raucous celebration there were extra security precautions. London's famous Trafalgar Square was closed to the traditional crowd celebration. New York's Time Square had extra police security obviously mindful of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.
Here at home, Payne Land in South West St. Andrew celebrated the New Year under police curfew. The policemen were reportedly specially polite in offering seasonal greetings as they imposed security measures in the community even searching churchgoers.
This was some indication that the anti-crime campaign took no holiday. Even so, the lawmen scheduled a friendly football match with Payne Land residents to "start the New Year with a bang".
Elsewhere in Clarendon, however, the police shot dead a man said to be wanted by the FBI and reputed to have several aliases an indication of criminal notoriety.
Another jarring note, much less lethal, was evident in the temporary closure of Emancipation Park in Kingston between Boxing Day and January 2.
It is generally conceded that the new park is a welcome adornment to a city with too few facilities for gentle relaxation and well-kept greenery. Yet vandals abused the facilities, stealing lighting fixtures and chairs, forcing the management to close the park at the height of the festive season.
The kind of behaviour this episode reflects must be a target for the new dimension the Prime Minister says the Values and Attitudes programme will take.
It is shameful indeed that some citizens lack civic pride in amenities which enhance the aesthetic aspect of the capital city. This failure is also reflected in the littering of streets not only with everyday garbage. Work crews employed by municipal or utility authorities are notorious for leaving uncollected mounds of rubble from repair work, or bush cut from roadside verges.
These are ugly indices of civic delinquency. They may seem parochial alongside concerns about urban violence and mayhem. But even a brand new park in Kingston saw rowdy vandalism. And such is the mood of a world wary about "a war on terror" that New Year celebrations need strong security in major cities.
The mindset is global. We have been reminded by no less than the Prime Minister himself that the crime we fight has "significant international links".
