Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

First, please allow us to congratulate, and thank you, for your willingness to serve as the leader of our country.

This petition serves to voice concerns about an issue that has been problematic for Jamaica, and has tarnish our country’s reputation for decades.

“Voices Against Crime in Jamaica” is a Facebook group that consists of over 5,000 active members.

We are a group of concerned Jamaicans living at home and abroad. We follow what is happening very closely, and by sharing news stories we are able to engage each other on what we can do together to help bring this matter to light, and to the people that are charged to protect the Citizens of Jamaica.

There has been an upsurge of homicides in the country, and so at this point the Administrators of the group agreed that in order for our voices to be heard, and in order to help ensure the safety of the Jamaican people, returning residents, we must go one step further by asking you, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, to take this matter seriously and address it.

We have lost too many Jamaican men, women, and children, and with the numbers of murders committed since the start of the year standing at 275, it is imperative that actions are taken.

Let us compare some statistics. Take for example the City Of Chicago in the USA, America's most violent city. The annual rate of homicide in 2015 was approximately 500. With the same population as Chicago ( 2.8 million people), in that same year Jamaica closed out at approximately 1,100 homicides. Do you see that we have doubled the number of homicide in the city of Chicago?

There was a report released by the Observer in January of this year that “homicides” jumped 20 percent and is at its highest in five years. This matter is grave and should be treated with the urgency that it deserves. Our people are dying.

Mr. Holness, you have faced this demon first hand. We saw the terror in your eyes on the night of your rally in Sam Sharpe Square, when gunmen opened fire causing deaths and injuries; this is reality for many Jamaicans living day to day.

The violence that plague our society is not a normal way to live and we should not become so desensitized and accepting of the behavior of those who continue to disrupt and wreak havoc on society. The murderers, extortionists, and dons—we must now put our foot down and set a precedence that echoes,” No more.”

We should, together, and as a country, restore social order even if it means to deploy the JDF for as long as it takes until gunmen retreat, and stop the bloodletting of our people.

Crime is costing our country close to 4% of GDP, and Mr. Prime Minister we asked that you take into consideration the following proposals herein:

• A full modernization of the police force and the criminal justice system. We are held hostage by ruthless murderers and criminals. We must be prepared to take back our country.

The level of homicide and criminality is unbearable and we cannot see true economic growth and development unless we address this problem.

• We are asking you to examine our court system.

Swift justice against some of the most heinous acts against humanity is imperative in the fight against crime. We have to make every effort, and extend our efforts to have an adequately functioning justice system. We understand, this will be an uphill climb, but we no longer have the luxury of time.

• Please consider looking into legislation to include hard labor along with most custodial sentences so that we can get our prisoners to work, learn a skill, to contribute to their own subsistence and society.

This is a vital part of the rehabilitation process so that prisoners can reintegrate into society with better discipline and work ethic after serving their sentence.
Our country cannot afford to sustain an unproductive prison system as a burden on the nation’s purse.

• In every society there are people who commit heinous crimes against humanity, these individuals have severe personality disorders that cannot be modified.

The reason why we have justice systems across the world and penalties, is to protect the rest of us from these impulsive, heartless, individuals.

Jamaica’s justice system is weak, therefore it gives these men the freedom to do what they want without reservations. We cannot continue to breed violent criminal, so now, the onus is on the powers that be to enforce firm laws and for citizens to change their habit of glorifying and protecting dons.

Mr. Holness, our Government must take the lead here. We must come together as Jamaicans and cross political isles to help fix this problem.

We are not expecting you to perform a miracle, and we do understand that we cannot change destination in the course of seconds, but we can certainly change direction.

The diaspora, stakeholders, and the general public are ready to assist and play their role.

We await your signal, we await effective resolve from leadership that demonstrates a new way of doing things. A way that is above the corruption, inconsistency, bureaucracy, and mismanagement that has brought our country to its knees.

We hope to see your address to our nation via live television after a crime plan has been put in place and ready to be tested.

We need to come together and do this. We can and we must.

We can no longer be intimidated by soulless beings. We need to return to the tranquility that we were once accustom to.

We know that you can do this and we are behind you. We were hopeful when you acknowledged the high rate of crime that we face when you were campaigning for the office.

Please do not fail us, our children, our women, and our young people, let us do our part with the power that we were given by the people, for as Albert Einstein once said, “the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing.”

On that note, I believe that a modern way of thinking is within us.

We are confident that you can double down on the idea of a new day.

Please, let us make Jamaica the great nation that it ought to be. We ask that you fire up your cabinet, so that they can put plans in motion, while you get the citizenry on board.