Simpson Miller questions wisdom of police budget cut

A bad idea.

That’s how Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller on Thursday described government’s decision to slash the Jamaica Constabulary’s budget by 60 per cent.

“The government is proposing to spend some $500 million less on the police in a vital area such as stores and armoury. This is a bad idea,” Simpson Miller said.

The opposition leader made the remark during her contribution to the 2016/2017 budget debate that was opened last week Thursday by Finance Minister Audley Shaw.

“Why would you systematically reduce the budgetary provision to the security forces for essential items such as bulletproof vests and weapons at a time when the murder situation is a cause of great concern?" Simpson Miller added.

Simpson Miller argued that the slash in budget doesn’t give confidence to citizens, business operators and “potential investors that we will be protected”.

“I want to remind the government that the successful pursuit of growth will be affected greatly by crime,” the opposition leader added.

At the same time, Simpson Miller said that Jamaica’s problem “is not necessarily the result of inadequate policing or lack of funding of the security forces”.

“There is a deep-seated problem of how we relate to each other as human beings,” she said. “A culture of peaceful dispute resolution must be promoted in families, at the workplace, on the playfield and elsewhere.”