In the wake of national outrage over the rape and murder of nine-year-old Kelsey Ferrigon, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced plans to fast-track amendments to make Jamaica’s Sex Offender Registry publicly accessible. Speaking during a discussion with Kelsey’s mother, Holness said the laws must prioritise the protection of victims over criminals. The call comes amid ongoing discussions about safeguarding children and strengthening trust in the justice system, especially during Child Month.
Jamaica Gleaner/15 May 2025
THE NATIONAL outrage, including Prime Minister Andrew Holness’, over last week’s sexual assault and murder of nine-year-old Kelsey Ferrigon, was hardly surprising.
This violation of Little Kelsey – whose presumed attacker was subsequently killed by the police – was the latest in the all-too-frequent assault on innocent children. And it happened in the midst of Child Month, a time when there is a highlighting of the vulnerabilities of children and the obligations that adults have for their protection.
In the face of the atrocity, Prime Minister Holness has suggested that the Government will fast-track amendments to the law to make the island’s sex offenders’ register publicly accessible, an issue that has been on his administration’s agenda for years.
“Where we are in the society, I said before and I will say it again, that our laws need to favour the protection of life and the protection of victims, rather than protecting criminals,” Dr Holness said in a discussion with Kelsey’s mother.
While The Gleaner appreciates the anger over this case, and others, where children, and indeed adults, have been victims of heinous crimes, as well as the demands for quick justice, we are clear that justice must be as sure and fair as it is quick. We believe, too, that gains on these fronts won’t be permanent and sustainable in the absence of a broader national reset of social values, which is a case for a softer, gentler Jamaica.
That is why, even as The Gleaner welcomes, and celebrates, Jamaica’s general reduction in crime, especially homicides, we urge Prime Minister Holness to resurrect – to operate in concert with the police’s anti-crime strategies – his idea for something that appeared to resemble, in part, former prime minister P.J. Patterson’s campaign on values and attitudes over three decades ago.
Unfortunately, Mr Patterson’s effort was ridiculed and undermined and left to atrophy at the altars of cynicism and political partisanship. It can’t be claimed that there has been a complete transformation since Mr Patterson’s effort, but things have shifted for the better. There is now more likely to be a critical mass, regardless of political persuasion, who would be ready to support a programmatic effort to rebuild eroded social values.
REBUILDING TRUST
In 2023, faced with Jamaica’s high crime rate and spiralling with antisocial behaviour, Dr Holness began canvassing new approaches to problems, including the creation of a new ministry to focus on the human and social dimensions of these matters, rather than the policing and related interventions overseen by the Ministry of National Security.
“I’m thinking of calling it the ministry of peace and human development, but maybe that won’t be the name,” the prime minister told his party’s conference in November, 2023. “But we need a ministry that is focused on reducing the level of violence in our society.”
Headway has been made on violent crime in recent years. Homicides declined seven per cent in 2023 and 18 per cent last year. The authorities say that based on current trajectory, murders this year could fall below 800, which would be lowest since 1995, and a 30-per-cent decline when compared to 2024.
Even though we hope that the current trend is permanent, we are also aware that there have been other periods when crime statistics, especially homicides, have edged southward, only to shift again.
It is common ground that amid the plethora of other issues (like criminal gangs) that contribute to the dysfunction that impact crime, the situation is worsened by a coarsening of interpersonal relationships and a breakdown in trust for authority that have weakened community and societal bonds. Indeed, seven out of 10 Jamaicans believe (with good reason) that they live in a corrupt society. Half have little confidence in politicians, the legislature and other critical institutions of the state.
Rebuilding trust will require revamping the political culture, including rooting out official corruption. That will require hard work, to which the political institutions and their leaders must begin now and demonstrably show they are willing to complete.
But the little, and relatively cheap to accomplish, things, also matter – like regularly cleaning drains, trimming verges and removing garbage. So, too, is reminding, not haranguing, citizens about their civic responsibilities, as well as the basics of good social behaviour and interpersonal relationships.
As The Gleaner suggested previously, there ought to be an effort to be a campaign, backed by the Government, political Opposition, the private sector and civil society groups, conducted with the intensity of the JAMAL movement of the 1970s when many thousands of Jamaicans became involved in a literacy campaign.
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