The scammers would rather die with their boots on

Dear Editor,

According to the head of Area One police Assistant Commissioner Clifford Chambers, young people in St James are at a high risk of becoming involved in criminal activities.

There has been a 21 per cent increase in murders in the parish of St James, compared to a similar period last year, and of the 80 per cent of crimes committed in the parish, young people are the main perpetrators and victims.

The toxic and corrosive impact of the Yankee dollar from the lucrative lottery scamming and its promise of instant prosperity have corrupted the moral fabric of the Jamaican society and our vulnerable young people in particular, who are otherwise good and useful citizens.

The lure of filthy lucre has spoilt our young people in the main and has made them victims of a cycle of violence and incentivised robbery and corruption. This is not who we are.

The additive properties of lottery scamming are far more corrosive than that of the drug trade. It is far more addictive and insidious than crack cocaine with its promise of instant gratification. Coupled with the poisonous brew of inequity, low wages, the lack of opportunity in an ocean of conspicuous consumption, and easy access to guns and ammunition, it has fuelled the path of destruction and undermines economic growth and development, rendering Jamaica nothing but a pariah State.

To add salt to the wound, we are in continuous fear and danger of suffering violent deaths as the lives of many Jamaicans are solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

Neither moral suasion nor employment opportunities can compete with the promise of lottery scamming. Despite the best effort of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), with its crime suppression measures, the infectious malady persists, accompanied by wonton acts of brutal and inexplicable carnage, leaving only destruction