THE VIOLENT death of three policemen in a span of less than 12 hours has sent shock waves throughout the nation.
This scale of killing from criminal conspiracy has never happened here before, as far as we have been able to ascertain. And conspiracy it is, according to the Police High Command at a news conference yesterday. A news release from the Police Officers Association and its auxiliary affiliates described the attacks as "a clearly orchestrated and co-ordinated."
This frightening new level of the war on crime confirms that there is organised defiance of law and order. The criminals are obviously well armed and must have access to funding that enables this brazen onslaught against the police and hence the society itself. The criminals must be stopped. It is time for the public to begin to give the strongest possible support to the police. This must begin now. Not tomorrow. We must win the fight against the criminals.
These killings have pushed national concern beyond the stage of fearful anxiety about the recurring conflicts in the volatile communities of inner-city Kingston; conflicts which fuel criminal activity well beyond the capital city. This is even more reason why Jamaicans should rise in support of the police. Tell what you know. Come forward with information.
Inner-city and other support for murderous gangs must come to an end. Their links with the corrupt sources of funding and sophisticated planning of the evil rackets they operate must be stopped. It can happen with the support of the vast majority of law-abiding Jamaicans.
Led by the Ministry of National Security and in tandem with the Police High Command, the security policies have invoked popular support to help the policing; international aid has been put in place to boost investigative techniques; and the Church has been asked asked to lend spiritual guidance. So amid the chorus of condemnations these killings have already generated there must be a strong resolve to crush the roots and tentacles of this alarming assault on our society. Otherwise, all the plans about education, health, social transformation and the rest will come to nought if the organised criminals win the war.
There must no longer be any pussy-footing about the probable political linkages with crime a factor already alluded to by the Minister of National Security himself. If stronger legislation is needed it is past time to amend or enact new laws. The criminal justice system must be repaired in all the malfunctioning facets and levels of its operation, as killers and criminals must be brought to book quickly.
We must do what is necessary to win this fight. We must dismantle the gangs. We must get rid of the criminals and the killers. Let us join the fight that we must win.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
