by: Kymberli Whittaker
Date: May 15, 2015
On any day, it is highly probable that you interact with
several persons who have been accused of a crime, but will never be convicted
of it. The person you give way to cross in front of you while driving, the person
with whom you conduct business with, buy goods from, parents of children your
own kids socialize with, the man/woman across the street. You cannot look at
someone and tell if they have committed a crime, there is no “look” that a
criminal possesses. Guilty persons are walking around free or on bail who may
have actually done the act, but because the person’s in the know refuse to
speak out, true justice will never be served.
Show me one country without crime, I bet you can find none,
yet Jamaica is seen worldwide as being the murder capital of the world by many.
Jamaica, self-proclaimed, top tourism destination has fallen nine spots to rank
76 out of 141 countries in the Global Travel & Tourism Competitiveness
Report 2015. Jamaica has so much to offer to visitors and we have the potential
to earn millions from this industry, however the fear of crime is crippling our
image. The persons who call Jamaica home, there are different ways of coping
with our high crime rate while trying to conduct businesses, raise families or
generally to maintain a livelihood. Some people have given up on staying
abreast of current affairs or news which serves of a stark reminder of reality.
Others barricade themselves where possible within comfortable or luxurious town
homes or residences which can rival any “5 star” hotel, while consuming media
from our foreign neighbours.
It seems as if there is some disconnect from Jamaica’s
Reality, as crime seems to be an alien concept unless one is directly affected
by it. In a year there may be a few campaigns by different groups pleading for
justice, and a few walks and marches as people stand in “solidarity” against
crime, most currently the no-tolerance policy against child abuse as stories
have emerged of young girls either losing their lives or becoming impregnated
at the hands of older men, whether family members or strangers. While
participation is good however in opposing crime via presenting a unified front,
this is not enough and the reasons many crimes cannot be solved is because of
pure talk and no action, and when put to the test there is no talk where it
counts- at the police station or in the court room.
From ever since we’ve heard the phrase “informer mus dead!!”
But that mentality cannot prevail as we complain about the high crime rate and
bemoan the reduced opportunities for advancement in Jamaica. Criminals are elevated and protected through
silence to continue to perpetuate injustices against the massive. Statistics
from the Office of the Children’s Registry indicate that reporting of crimes
against children has risen, but even after a crime is reported, there must be
follow-up. The complainants themselves may choose not to follow-up and
eventually the case may be eventually thrown out. The witnesses to crimes flat
out refuse to speak out, because of fear of telling the truth and also for not
wanting to be labeled an informer. These occurrences have disastrous effects on
the pursuit of “Justice” for the person whom the crime was perpetuated against.
A visit to communities will yield a wealth of information about the crime with
people speaking authoritatively, however when asked to speak out , people say
that “mi nah go court”, “a nuh my business dat” and “after mi a nuh informer”.
And then the already burdened court system becomes stagnated as cases are put
off until another date, over and over again.
Arrests can be made daily but making persons accountable for
deviating from the law lies with every one of us. Jamaica has a serious crime
problem, that is the reality. Jamaica is
not seen as a favourable place to invest by many, corruption is robbing
taxpayers of their hard earned money as
money has to spent to remedy illegal acts. Crime whether white collar or blue
collar affects every one of us, so persons from all the different fabrics of
society need to have no-tolerance policy towards protecting criminals.
A shift in mindset is
the only way that we can move forward. Talking the Truth does not mean that you
are an informer.
