Mark Beckford, Staff Reporter

With over 1,500 persons being murdered since the start of the year, Commissioner of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, believes the solution to Jamaica's crime woes requires long-term and multi-faceted approaches.

"The causes of our high crime rate are multidimensional and multifaceted. It, therefore, stands to reason that the remedies employed must of themselves be multidimensional and multifaceted," he said at a press conference at the Police Officers' Club in St. Andrew on Thursday.

"We have to do that if we are going to bring about any long-term, sustainable reduction in the high rate of crime in this country. It is not a matter solely for the security forces," he continued.

The new commissioner of police listed five dimensions to what he sees as the cause of crime and the areas that needs to be addressed.

These, he said, were political, business/commercial, law enforcement, socio-economic/cultural and civil society. The commissioner said these would have to change over time to reduce crime and violence.

Lead by example

In the area of politics, he called on the politicians to lead by example by discouraging tribalism. In the area of business, he said that entrepreneurs should recognise the link between criminality and the lack of business and called on them to engage inner-city communities.

In terms of socio-economic/cultural and civil society, Admiral Lewin believes there needs to be a return to morals, values, the value of work and the importance of certain institutions such as the family.

The commissioner also made an appeal to criminal elements in the society to desist from their deviancy as the force would get better under his watch.

He also called on the Government to speed up the establishment of the National Independent Investigative Agency to aid the police in their fight against corruption.

Public Defender Earl Witter praised the commissioner on his plans to make the JCF more community oriented and said that the former army chief should seek to instill more accountability in the force to prevent police abuse.

"I'm of course heartened to have heard him say that it makes good sense to involve the community in the business of the work of the police."