Police officers watch as these residents move their belongings from Gravel Heights, St Catherine, following a warning by gunmen. - Ricardo Makyn

Christmas is fast approaching, but the festive season was not on the minds of a group of students this week.

They were concerned about the crime and violence in the country. The students were very upset as they discussed the fate of some residents at Gravel Heights, St Catherine, who were forced to flee their homes because of threats by gunmen who accused them of being police informers.

Rule for a month

The students said they would like to be given the opportunity to run the country for just one month because all those gunmen would have to leave the area immediately.

Some of the residents were quoted as saying that they purchased land and built their houses and now they would have to start life all over.

The students said what grieved them most was that the police were offering them protection to leave the community.

"This has got to be utter nonsense! What are taxpayers paying the police to do?," an irate student remarked. "The police should be declaring war on the gunmen who threaten the residents so they can live in peace in their community."

"So it appears that it is the gunmen running this country when they can issue threats and the police, who appear to be unable to discipline these gunmen, can only afford to give the poor residents protection to leave their houses...," was the view of another student.

"All I would like is just one month to run this country and show the gunmen who is in charge. It is disgusting and frightening to see gunmen issuing threats and they are allowed to get away with it," one of the students commented.

"The police, the soldiers and the citizens should join forces and show these gunmen that they run things in this country and not the gunmen," another student added.

Nothing new

It is indeed frightening that the police cannot offer protection to the Gravel Heights residents, although the law gives them the authority to do so. The plight of the residents is nothing new because, for many years, residents have been fleeing from their communities because of threats from gunmen.

Section 13 of the Constabulary Force Act states in part that "the duties of the police under this Act shall be to keep watch by day and by night, to preserve the peace, to detect crime, apprehend or summon before a Justice, persons found committing any offence or whom they may reasonably suspect of having committed any offence or who may be charged with having committed any offence."