Citizens must come together to Build their Communities – ACP Green

New Acting Commissioner of Police (ACP), Lester Green, has said that the solution to crime and violence rested with citizens coming together to build their communities.
He said that even with the best efforts of the police, if citizens did not come together “to work for the common good” then there would be no long-lasting solution to the problem of crime.
“I will make no apology for identifying communities as the number one area needing support,” ACP Green stated as he addressed the Lauriston and Thompson Pen 4-H community youth forum and launch of the St. Catherine Parish Youth Council on Saturday (Feb.18), in Spanish Town.
He noted that criminality thrived in a disorganized community and the key to diminishing criminal activity was for residents to “look out for each other, help each other and do what is good for the benefit of the community.”
Citizens, he said, must also develop trust in each other and the people who serve the community such as the police, councillors, members of parliament and civic leaders.
“Individuals also have to learn to share problems,” ACP Green said, adding that, “individuals, no matter how far removed they are, when you break it down they have similar problems and therefore it is important that they begin sharing.”
“If you don’t work together you’ll never provide a safe community to live in,” he stressed.
According to ACP Green, Jamaica’s youth faced a serious problem and “if we as adults don’t work together, participate together and become involved in activities that go toward the development of the community, there will be no positive images there for the young people to emulate”.