Please note, that neither my family nor myself are claiming any patent on suffering as a result of having lost a loved one because of crime in this country.
In the past five years since my brother's killing, we have seen the homicide rate go from 172 in 2002 to 229 in 2003 to 259 in 2004 to 386 in 2005 to 370 last year.
Statistics, however, can be a cold and detached way of capturing the human condition, the human experience.
Statistics do not really tell the story of heartache and loss that each family member, each relative, each friend, each co-worker feels when someone loses their life at the hands of violence.
The National Security Minister, Martin Joseph, has acknowledged on more than one occasion that every statistic reflects the loss of a person and that the Government does not accept the murder of even one of its citizens.
I choose to believe that Mr Joseph's statements are not only sincere but reflect the sentiment of all those in the Cabinet and in law enforcement.
**I choose to believe that the Government and the police are doing all that they can to improve the detection rate for all the homicides that take place every year and at times over the past five years, seemingly every other day.
I choose to believe that as a society, we have the ability to fight any acceptance of the gun and drug culture that has become a bloody stain on the fabric of our society.
Sometimes belief is the only ammunition one has in the fight against a reality that seems so entrenched, you sometimes wonder exactly when the battle will be won.
The key thing, though, is that you always believe victory will come.
When it comes to fighting crime, however, how do you measure victory when your enemy is not just the perpetrator of an act but also the influence and motivation behind it?
I will not dare to say that I have the solution to the problem but I do know that for every suggestion with a right motive, must eventually result in at least one right result.
In the past five years, I have heard a lot of ideas about how to fight crime but the truth is no idea has any value unless people agree to give it life.
Crime is not just an election issue or a threat to the economy but an enemy to the social conscience which no country can afford to lose.
This issue is about our entire system of justice, law enforcement and social development.
It is about how we live with each other and how we live with ourselves.
It is not about judgement, as it is about justice.
It is about forgiveness with wisdom and not ignorance with wishful thinking.
I hope that one day my brother's killers are held to account as I wish the same for the killers who still roam free.
I couldn't have said it better myself.... now if only our duncey Ministers and duncey police can get off their arses and do the work they're paid for...
** I can't believe this one... I believe that our dunceys are incapable of stringing together even a single coherent thought, much less those needed to carry out an investigation, or form a workable policy against crime.
It's the worst case scenario of putting people who failed in the education system in charge, of giving them responsibility, and of expecting results.
