Stacey Knight | Police-citizen trust helps fight crime

The controversial police killing recently of Jadean Gooden at his home in the Grants Pen community in northeast St Andrew has highlighted the need to reactivate community-centred initiatives that have proven to be effective in reducing crime and violence while building trust between citizens and the security forces.

The killing sparked fiery protests by citizens and points to the possible deterioration of the good relations between citizens and the police that once pervaded the community. That situation resulted from the efforts of the then Peace Management Initiative (PMI) and other initiatives such as collaborations among the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Jamaica, and Grant’s Pen residents to reduce crime and violence.

The PMI was established in 2002 to detect and manage potentially explosive or violent situations in communities. Its strategies included preventative measures designed to stop conflicts from escalating into violence; direct intervention in conflicts with community influencers, social workers, and the police to defuse tensions; and collaborative approaches that involved working with relevant agencies to provide social support and infrastructural services.

Homicides dropped by 15 per cent in the Corporate Area between 2002 and 2004, partially because of the contribution of the PMI. Although the murder rate later increased, many stakeholders thought that the PMI’s efforts prevented further escalation. Grants Pen moved from being a crime and violence-prone community to one where peace and unity reigned, and we do not want it to return to that state.

SOCIAL INTERVENTION

As noted by Horace Levy, one of the framers of the PMI, there needs to be a renewal of social intervention in communities such as Grants Pen. As Levy points out, “There are a lot of good youths in the inner city, where the majority desire to live according to the law, but there needs to be more opportunities to help them by creating opportunities for training, business development and further academic engagement.”

The combination of youth-development programmes, job training, education, and mentorship for at-risk youth, community-development initiatives, and funding projects that promote community engagement, social cohesion, and economic empowerment is the way to achieve lasting change as opposed to just punitive police action.

AMCHAM must be commended for being instrumental in the past in addressing community development through private-sector partnerships and collaboration with local businesses to create economic opportunities and job-training programmes for unattached youth. Through AMCHAM’s leadership, a model police station, community meeting space, and a peace park were built in the Shortwood-Grants Pen area.

The United States Agency for International Development was also involved in various initiatives to promote stability and security in Grants Pen with significant success over the years.

Several studies, including one by Dr James Gilligan in the US as well as others by Professor Anthony Harriott, director of the Institute of Criminal Justice and Security at the University of the West Indies, have highlighted the need for respect and understanding among the police and citizens while dealing with the needs of communities impacted by violence. These findings coincide with my views and are demonstrated in various ways, including my involvement with the community-based group SUS (St Andrew North Upliftment Society), which partners with the police to keep the peace in Grants Pen.

Having lived in Northeast St Andrew all my life, my commitment to pursuing citizen security goes beyond short-term political gain.

Stacey P. Knight is an attorney-at-law and educator and the People’s National Party member of parliament candidate for the St Andrew Northeast constituency. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.