The lead story of last Wednesday's STAR reveals just how bad criminals in Jamaica have become in their attempts to control residents and communities.

The article told the tale of how residents of Solitaire Road in Seivwright Gardens, St. Andrew, are now homeless after gunmen served notice on them.

All 26 residents from that community are now living in other parts of the community and say they just want a chance to go back and properly move out.

The gunmen are likely not the owners of the houses the residents rented, yet they have decided for whatever reason that they want the area vacated immediately.

It is even more frightening that the police responsible for the area have no idea that the residents were told to move out. Given the fact that they do not know, there is very little they can do to stop the activity. Well, we hope they will make some attempts now that THE STAR has highlighted the issue.

But of greater concern is the power that these criminals have been gaining in their communities. They can serve notice on residents and they have to obey or lose their lives. This practice is unacceptable, and until Jamaica speaks out against violence with one voice, then this sort of practice will reoccur and even worsen.

The police have devised several strategies to tackle the crime problem, but it cannot be dealt with effectively unless there is unity among Jamaicans against it. The Government needs to look at ways at unifying the nation against the few men and women who are terrorising us and making us fearful.