Jamaican Prime Minister Seeks Regional Solution to Crime

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has requested that the issue of violent crime be placed on the agenda of the next Summit of Caribbean leaders to be held in July 2018. He made the request speaking at a news conference following the closure of the 38th meeting of Heads of Governments in Grenada on Thursday night. Holness said while crime and violence had not been a matter on the agenda for this year’s summit, he had taken the opportunity to raise the matter.

“I raised the issue from the perspective of not just a security issue. But also but from a macro-social perspective/ the use of violence as a means of resolving conflict, as a means of social control, as part of our social transactions is becoming almost a feature of our societies.”

Holness said that regional governments have to take a “proactive role” in addressing crime, and asked CARICOM to place this on the agenda for the July 2018 meeting. He said the other leaders agreed.

“I believe that this will start a process within CARICOM to address the issue of violence, particularly violence that ends up in crime,” Holness said.

Jamaica and several other Caribbean nations, specifically Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana have been beset by an onslaught of violent crime in recent times. The crime wave includes murders, aggravated robbery, and sexual assault. There is, however, concern about violent crime evolving within domestic disputes.

Increasingly, Caribbean residents in the Diaspora are expressing skepticism to return to their home countries, even for vacations, fearing repercussions from the wave of violent crimes. Also, the Caribbean Diaspora is calling for measures to be taken to reduce violent crime in the region, for the long run.