If he sees past the Opposition's rhetoric and his own shilly-shallying on the matter, Prime Minister Bruce Golding will observe a window of opportunity not only for bipartisan action, but a broad, national consensus for a bold response to the problem of crime in Jamaica.

For, perhaps more than any other time in Jamaica, there is a deep sense of crisis, that the society is in a state of anarchy, and that law-abiding citizens are being held hostage by murderous terrorists. The fear is being driven by more than just the murder statistics, as bad as those are - nearly 700 homicides so far this year.

Random criminality

It is the randomness of the criminality that is so undermining public confidence; this sense that the merchants of death can operate with impunity.

Last week, for instance, two policemen were ambushed and shot dead in south-west St Andrew. Then, in central Kingston, in broad daylight, gunmen shot five persons in one go, and were brazen enough to return to the same premises the follow day to shoot more.

Just over a fortnight ago, in mid-afternoon, in a crowded mall, a gunman chased down a young woman, shot her repeatedly and made an incredulously easy escape.

Of course, we just did not get to where we are. Criminal violence is not a phenomenon of the just over eight months of Mr Golding's administration. But, we are where we are and in danger, in the absence of a credible fix, of our society falling into a state of atrophy and eventual disintegration.

sense of detachment

It is not enough, therefore, for Mr Golding to point to the record of his predecessors and/or to point us to the fact that under the law, it is the police who have responsibility for operational matters and for tactical plans to fight crime.

There is in that response, unintended we suspect, a sense of a detachment that is hardly good for people's confidence in the capacity of the Government to do its job - in anything.

The point is that this crisis demands, first, a full acceptance by the prime minister - that is where it must start - of where we are. That we face anarchy. That Jamaica is in crisis.

Mr Golding must, thereafter, be clear that a turnaround is beyond mere policing tactics. It starts with a foundation in policy and full force and prestige of the office of prime minister.

Given the direness of Jamaica's circumstance, recovery must begin with stabilisation. This will demand tough action, unconventional even. This, of course, does not preclude, concurrently supporting social and economic interventions.

Backing of Jamaicans

If Mr Golding seizes the moment and embraces bold action, he will find that he has the backing of the vast majority of Jamaicans, who are fed up of being afraid, unsafe and uncertain.

Should he be worried about the likely response of the Opposition, the prime minister if he is strong, ethical and non-partisan, need not worry. For, should they try to impede his efforts for partisan political reasons, they would soon find themselves isolated and bereft of support. They understand this.

Indeed, Portia Simpson Miller promised last week that "the Opposition stands ready to support any worthwhile initiative to tame the monster that is afflicting the country".