The police cannot fight crime alone – Constable Watson
CONSTABLE SHANTEL Watson of the St James Community Safety and Security Branch has said the issue of crime and violence requires a collaborative effort as the police alone cannot stem it.
“It can’t be done by the Jamaica Constabulary Force alone,”she said. “So it helps when matters come to your attention at agencies, that the information is pooled and is sent to where something can be done about it.”
Constable Watson was referring to agencies such as the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), the Ministers Fraternal, the Citizens Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) and the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA).
“One man can’t do it. We all have to come together and do it. We all have to come together and make the sacrifice. It is a sacrifice in nation building because it takes time, a lot of sleepless nights travelling back and forth to get this done,” she added.
Constable Watson was addressing a violence prevention and peace-building symposium at Montego Bay Community College recently. The symposium was organised by the VPA in partnership with the Ministry of National Security under the theme, ‘Collaboration and Evidencedriven Interventions: Making a Difference Towards Achieving Safe and Violence-free Jamaica’.
DISTRUST BETWEEN PARTIES
She said there is the issue of distrust of the police by community members, who fear being even seen at the police station. She also noted that there is a lot of misconceptions about the police by the residents.
She, however, noted that there has to be a different approach to debunk these misconceptions, which she added the police were employing.
Meanwhile, Dr Elizabeth Ward, chair of the VPA, said focusing on reducing violence against children will cut the pipeline of recruits into criminal gangs. She noted that the earlier behavioural problems in children are identified and effectively treated, the greater the cost-effectiveness and cost benefit of interventions.
“Programmes with family involvement and strengthening support services for families and communities are providing key components for sustained success,” she posited.
Ward said coordination of services to meet the behavioural needs of children requires delivery by teams that are drawn from various disciplines, ministries, departments, associations and service clubs. These teams, she said, need to have the ability to provide the therapeutic services to build positive change in social and cultural norms.
“Teams need to understand the nature of community assets and how increasing positive assets such as clean, green recreational spaces, proper solid waste disposal and good, well-lit pedestrian pathways can reduce violence,” she added.
The symposium also looked at the types of interventions that target/respond to the patterns of violence in communities, and the importance of investment in violence prevention. Representatives of the CSJP, Ministers Fraternal, PMI and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce were among the panellists who participated in the discussion.