MacMillan

MINUTES AFTER being sworn in as a government senator, Colonel Trevor MacMillan, national security minister, announced yesterday that the administration will, in the next few days, unveil the strategies to be deployed by the security forces to tackle the serious crime problem.

Citing alarming crime statistics for this month, MacMillan said that since the beginning of May, 181 Jamaicans had been murdered, an average of six persons killed every day.

Already the murder count is galloping towards the 700 mark, and there are fears that the country could register another record year of killings.

In 2005, the country recorded its highest murder toll with 1,674 Jamaicans being killed.

MacMillan, in a statement to the Senate yesterday, said in the last several weeks the country had been experiencing one of the bloodiest periods in its history.

State of shock

According to the national security minister, the wanton disregard for life and the brazen attacks on women and children have left the nation in a state of shock.

He blamed a large percentage of the killings on the 125 gangs operating across the island and reprisal actions for inter-gang feuds.

"I want to make it clear that the state will not allow itself to be overrun by criminal elements that have been operating with impunity for far too long," said MacMillan.

He warned that, regardless of affiliation or place of residence, the security forces would leave no stone unturned to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice.

On Thursday, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) demanded that the Government put on the table its approach to fighting crime.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding had said the crafting of a crime plan did not fall within the purview of the Government's responsibility, but, instead, was the duty of the police commissioner.

He came under fire for his statement, with Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller describing his remarks as careless and reckless.

To revisit road map

Meanwhile, the PSOJ urged the administration to revisit the Road Map to a Safe and Secure Jamaica, a document crafted by MacMillan.

He told reporters at Gordon House yesterday that the executive was now examining the document and a statement would be made shortly.