Will the crime situation in Jamaica ever be any better? Is there any real solution, or are the authorities just doing their best to paint a picture of hope to ease the public's fears?

Whatever the answer may be, one thing is certain: crime in Jamaica is as much a part of the Jamaican experience as ackee and salt fish. The worst thing about that situation is the agents of criminality are diversifying their taste for bloodshed and crime.

The lead story in THE STAR yesterday highlighted the tragedy where a 90-year-old woman in Newlands, Portmore, St Catherine, was killed in a gang feud that has been eating away at the community like cancer.

Now, before that, on Saturday, a story was published where a 60-year-old man was stabbed and thrown from a bus during a robbery.

There are countless instances as well where children and women have been the target of crimes. There are other instances, like the 12-year-old boy who was found dead in Portland, his hands bound and mouth gagged. And, certainly, we have not forgotten about Ananda Dean. On the issue of women being victims, last week a 27-year-old had her throat slashed. Her three children discovered her body.

Jamaica now has the situation where women, children and the elderly are becoming targets for the monsters who plague the country's streets disrupting civil lives.

Will there ever be change, or will the situation perpetually worsen?