PRESS RELEASE
Monday, January 23rd, 2017
PNP PATRIOTS IRRESPONSIBLE – G2K
Kingston, Jamaica: Generation 2000 (G2K), the young professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party is labeling the PNP Patriots as irresponsible. This is in response to a recent press release made by the PNP youth affiliate.
“The utterances made by the PNP youth affiliate were completely void of productive discourse and clearly aimed at scoring political points through fear-mongering,” said G2K President Stephen Edwards.
Edwards further lamented, “The PNP Patriots’ statement was merely a rant that brought nothing constructive to the table. What is more troubling is that the chairman of the Patriots has admitted to seeking ideas from PNP members of Parliament, when it should be the other way around. It is simply disappointing that a PNP youth affiliate is unable to develop ideas for itself.”
Experience has taught us that policing alone will never be enough to reduce crime in a meaningful way, as such attempts have all proven futile in the past. It is imperative that the conversation be expanded to include social intervention strategies that decrease antisocial behavior and the likelihood of young persons embarking on the pathway to criminality. Such strategies require constructive contributions from persons in all sectors of society, as was the case in August Town, St Andrew, which recorded zero murders during 2016.
“Crime should never be politicized. If the PNP patriots weren’t busy practicing the old-style tribal politics they would have learned of some of the crime fighting strategies that were outlined by the government,” said G2K Vice President Edson Z. Carr.
Generation 2000 is currently formulating a ‘Partnership for Peace Proposal’ that takes a holistic approach to reducing crime in the long term by mitigating antisocial behavior at the community level. Initiatives being researched include, but are not limited to:
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
- Early childhood conflict resolution coaching
- Family Strengthening Initiatives
- Professional licensing credits for voluntary acts of service to depressed communities
