Alert Citizens Can Stem Crime – DCP Scarlett

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Charles Scarlett, has called on Jamaicans to help to reduce crime in their communities by reporting acts or wrongdoing and being alert to the activities of suspicious persons.
Addressing an award function of the Association of Past Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) held recently at the Chinese International Restaurant in Mandeville, DCP Scarlett said that citizens have the power to put “a serious dent in crime”.
“The society is redeemable but it requires the collective will of all of us to speak about those issues that we feel or know are wrong” he stated.
“Take a position on issues that you feel strongly about. Take a position against lawlessness and dishonesty,” he urged, noting that, “we owe it to ourselves and our children to confront the monster of crime that is confronting us.”
Stating that “the argument that you can’t trust the police is no longer viable,” DCP Scarlett encouraged persons to report what they know to a pastor or a teacher, or make use of the various telephone numbers to pass on anonymous tips to the police. “Talk what you know or you may fall victim to that wrongdoer that you know of,” he warned.
Noting that crime affects the value of property, he said that it also contributes to poverty, as investors will not put up businesses in a crime-ridden area. “When a community is overcome by crime, it has disastrous consequences. It contributes to the underdevelopment of that community, as investors will invest their money elsewhere and the value of the homes in that community will go down,” he pointed out.
Special presentations were made to three past members of the JCF – Vincent James, Martel McFarlane and Cecil Pinto.