KINGSTON – Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller on Tuesday endorsed the government’s efforts to unseat criminals and crush gangs, but warned that speedily passing the six anti-crime bills into law in their present state to assist this thrust could be a costly mistake.
“We must overthrow the states within states – the garrison states; because it is there that some oppressors of the poor find room to operate,” Simpson Miller told Parliament during debate on the bills.
She said: “The dons might operate through garrisons, but they reside alongside the rich and powerful in our verdant hills.”
“Recent events have confirmed this, as the security forces have sought alleged drug- and gun-dealers in both downtown and uptown communities,” Simpson Miller added.
“If we are to truly tackle crime, we must be prepared to find the criminals wherever they are. If they are in the inner city, find them; if they are in the boardrooms, find them; if they are in Parliament, find them.
“But in attempting to find solutions to the spiralling crime wave, we must ensure that the measures we take do not result in some citizens feeling that the state is their enemy,” Simpson Miller said.
“Passing pieces of legislation to fight crime will not, by themselves, prevent or reduce crime. We have to examine seriously the impact of the six anti-crime bills on the rights of all Jamaicans, especially the poor . . . paper cannot solve crime.”
(Jamaica Observer)
