Mark Kerr-Jarrett, Contributor
For as long as I can remember, we have been struggling with the issue of crime and violence in Jamaica. The problem has become extremely serious in the last decade however and, in particular, in the last five years.
During this time, our crime control and reduction strategy has always been one of targeting the criminal enterprise, the ganja, cocaine and guns-for-drugs trade and, most recently, the lottery scam.
I would like to suggest that we need to change our focus from solely targeting the criminal enterprise and start focusing on the criminal element and reducing their numbers because what has happened over the years is that as we 'shut down' a specific criminal enterprise, the criminal element, which are the people perpetrating the crimes, change their line of business and with it comes an escalation in the violent nature and rewards of the enterprise/activity.
Criminal enterprise
Therefore, apart from just catching the current crop of criminals, we must make a concerted effort to reduce the pool from which they originate and the lure of the criminal enterprise to our unemployed youth. It is against this background that I would once again like to suggest that we institute mandatory military service with a twist for all young men between the ages of 18 and 25 who are not gainfully employed or enrolled in a certified educational institution or training facility.
This application would ideally include:
During the first six months to a year, the recruits would experience all the rigours of military training in order to instil discipline and team spirit. This would also result in dramatic socialisation of the individuals, the lack of which is one of the major causes for the high levels of involvement of our youth in criminal activity in the first place. The recruits would also be evaluated to determine their educational standard with particular attention to literacy and numeracy levels. Those requiring additional attention to bring them to the national standard would receive it as part of their basic training.
The other recruits who passed the standard literacy test would be evaluated to determine their strengths and aptitudes and then trained in that aspect of civil works and construction methodology, for example equipment operation and maintenance, concrete and asphalt technology, surveying, engineering, drafting, to name a few. Please note that the majority of these disciplines are currently offered as some of the many training areas currently available to recruits in their first seven years of enlistment in any case.
We could also consider the training in firearms and other 'exciting' military activities as part of a reward system that could be employed to promote good behaviour and enhance performance.
Joint venture
All the training and qualification could be done in partnership with either the equipment companies like Caterpillar, a service currently offered by the country dealer, or educational institutions like UTech and HEART Trust/NTA depending on the subject matter in order to assure that the highest possible standards are met. Once the aforementioned is achieved, we could then be in a position to go to the international lending agencies and request that as part of every internationally tendered infrastructure project for Jamaica, our army corps of engineers (ACE), would be a mandatory joint-venture partner, supplying all the services in which our competency levels met the tender requirements. Additionally ACE would provide site security, a duty for which they are also particularly well suited and trained.
How are we going to pay for it you may ask? Well, if according to 2006 figures, which are now far exceeded, crime was costing us $56 billion every year in GDP reduction and another $600 million in health-care costs for victims of violent crime and it is the unemployed males who make up the majority of criminals, the question is: can we afford not to implement this sort of programme?
After two to three years, we would have an otherwise hopeless male population brimming over with value and self-esteem. They will also be highly sought after by the construction industry throughout the region on completion of their period of national service, as they will have a marketable skill and valuable experience to match, all under pinned by personal character that is built upon discipline and teamwork.
The recruits could also be given the opportunity to make the ACE a career if they should so choose, entitling them to the chain of promotions available to any professional soldier.
Career-path opportunities
The approximate cost of billeting one private in 2006 was approximately $820,000 each per annum. Therefore, given the aforementioned numbers, this is equivalent to billeting 70,000 new recruits each year so cost should not be an issue!! Admittedly, this programme will have to be phased in to allow JDF/ACE time to increase its officer corps, commissioned and non-commissioned, to meet the challenges of this change in structure and upgrade and increase the trainers in order to manage all the new career-path opportunities that will be offered.
I believe that by implementing this form of programme, we can significantly reduce the quantum of the criminal element that is in our nation by reducing the pool of persons from which they are recruited, thus having a direct impact on the sustainability of criminal enterprises.
Jamaica and our youth must be secured for the future, and as the adage goes, drastic times require drastic measures. The benefits of a programme like this far outweigh the challenges, and I believe that we can rescue this nation and the sub-40 generation if we are willing to be innovative and deliberate in our ways. A clear path for a successful and prosperous future for all Jamaicans must be our priority today!
So, therefore, let us focus on tackling reduction in the criminal element and not just the criminal enterprise because without the element, the enterprise cannot thrive or exist.
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