Law Abiding Citizens Urged to Use Mental Resources to Tackle Challenges

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Carol Palmer, is calling on law abiding citizens to utilise their physical and mental resources to tackle the challenges facing communities.
The appeal was made during the Victim Support Unit’s (VSU) Anniversary Church Service at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church in Portmore, St. Catherine on July 20. The service was held under the theme: ‘Embracing Victims.Enhancing Communities’.
“We recognise that the challenges that face the communities are enormous. It will require the collective effort of all law abiding citizens to meet the challenges with all the physical and mental resources available to us,” Mrs. Palmer emphasized.
“It is easy to find faults and to blame each other. The challenge is to listen to each other, forget grudges and old views and work in harmony to grasp the opportunities that are emerging.if we fail to recognise that we can achieve far more by working together, then the battle is already lost,” she added.
The Permanent Secretary noted that it is a major priority for the government to introduce initiatives aimed at improving the safety and security of the young, the elderly and law abiding citizens which are very essential in any stable democracy.
Mrs. Palmer lauded the work of the VSU, as it continues its thrust to see “to the best interests of victims of crime, identifying their needs and advocating their rights.”
The VSU, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, provides support for victims of rape, attempted rape, carnal abuse, incest, indecent assault, domestic violence and wounding as well as families of citizens who have been murdered.
Mrs. Palmer pointed out that “a major concern at this time is the impact crime and violence is having on women.”
According to the Permanent Secretary, data from the VSU indicates that females are more than twice likely to be victims of crime. “The data is disturbing”, she added.
She appealed to the congregation to play their part to assist the unit. “Even as the Victim Support Unit provides these far reaching interventions, residents in the various communities across the Sunshine City (Portmore), as in all Jamaica, have a major role to play in supporting the work being undertaken by the Unit,” she said.
The VSU interventions are co-ordinated through 13 parish offices and involves counselling, support during and after case disposition and mediation services.