The Editor, Sir:

If I were asked to make a wish list for the new year, that list would contain my desire to see the implementation of an effective policy to deal with the scourge of praedial larceny. It is my hope, too, that by addressing this issue, the indirectly related matter of vigilante killings will get some critical attention.

The graphic details in the print and electronic media earlier this week describing the demise of three alleged 'goat tiefs', is a painful reminder of how callous and blood thirsty we are. It must, therefore, be an indictment on all of us, when we have to acknowledge that as punishment for stealing one goat, three men had to pay for it with their motor vehicle and their dear lives.

Criminality frustrating

Admittedly, the praedial thief is every farmer's worst nightmare and what makes this par-ticular brand of criminality so challenging and frustrating is the fact or likelihood that both the farmer and the thief may know each other. It is more than likely that almost every farmer in this country could have a story of praedial woes that he or she can tearfully tell. The praedial thieves have absolutely no bias and nobody is spared their destructive wrath and perpetual 'tiefing'.

For the average rural residents, farming is their major occupation, and their options fo investment schemes may more than likely be in the form of growing small crops or rearing an animal or two. Theirs is a difficult undertaking because there is usually no recourse or insurance refund when their ventures fail at the hands of the praedial thieves. Redress through the courts is almost a joke, as fines imposed are rarely done in any manner that is beneficial to the farmer who suffers.

Right or wrong, no offsetting satisfaction or compensation can or should be measured by the result of the brand of jungle justice dispensed on the errant 'tief' by those citizens who choose to take the law into their own hands.

The 'village vigilantes' have now become something more than a mere collection of people seeking justice. They have developed the now customary status of being the judge, the jury and the executioner, a stable characteristic that seems hard to change and readily accepted as normal behaviour. All across the country, vigilante killers have become an institution in themselves based on their common desire and interest to "kill di tief dem".

The widespread publicity that vigilante killings seem to get is an unfortunate course whereby this very unlawful culture builds favourable sentiments and acceptability among the lawless. In turn, these very sentiments have become the foundation for the increased fervour for a brand of justice that should be frowned on by all law-abiding citizens.

It is my humble expectation that ministers Smith, Tufton and the technocrats in their respective ministries can look beyond the continued usage of 'the receipt book' as a strategy to fight praedial larceny and collectively devise an effective action plan to manage and overcome this type of criminality and, by extension, the unlawful vigilante punishment being imposed by lawless citizens.

We must take all the necessary steps to guard against the on-slaught of social tumult and endemic lawlessness.

I am, etc.,

SONIA CHRISTIE

Stewart Town P.O

Trelawny

Via Go-Jamaica