Jamaica's Surf & Turf

Author’s note

It is widely accepted that the three pillars for development are economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability, it is also true that their foundation is based on peace and security.

Jamaica has witnessed related violence since its independence. Yet, gang related violence has evolved and increased over the past few decades to a point where it challenged the government institutions and the political structure of the nation, whilst those days seem to be away, gangs still exist in worrisome numbers and their capabilities remain intact to pose a threat. In that sense, gangs use violence to maintain the current status-quo, urban areas territories under partial control where they freely operate, citizens are intimidated and coerced by fear tactics and police forces are not intrinsically capable of enforcing the law to its full extent.

Gangs interaction and extensive networking might seem chaotic and too complex for outsiders, but it is organized based on informal and strictly applied turf rules developed over time as a bare necessity for illicit trade and criminal activities, when gangs cut loose or form coalitions not only poses as a public security concern, but also to the national security, since it may have the potential to quickly imbalance security resources allocation and the economy.

Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide a fresh and updated perspective on criminal gangs operating in Jamaica, that it may serve as basis for Security Risk Assessments, Programme Criticality Assessments and to promote further research on the subject. And, to better understand the complexity and dynamics of gangs in Jamaica, a short but insightful historical context is provided, as well as updated information on their structure, capabilities, main activities and resources.

I. Introduction

Out of Many, One People. Jamaica is one of the most diverse and colorful countries in the Caribbean. It is mostly famous among many virtues, for its music and celebrated Olympians. Yet, residents of Jamaica face a public security crisis, the Global Study on Homicide by the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime states that Jamaica is the 6th most violent country in the world. Despite the government’s reduction efforts, the rate of violence in Jamaica have been steadily increasing over the past few years.

Most criminal activity including violent crimes such as; murder, shooting, rape and aggravated assault are gang related, the evidence can be found on crime statistics for the past 4 years that show a continuous declining rate on common crime, while the violent crimes trend shows no significant change over time and for 2016 is even increasing by a 2%. This is the result of many socio-economic factors, that interrelate with illicit activities such as drug trade, weapons smuggling and turf wars, contributing to the increase of violent crime rates. For a nation with limited natural resources and an economy dependent on tourism, these high rates of violent crime become unappealing.

Consequently, the Jamaican government has outlined its priorities within the “partnership for prosperity framework” which aims to “ensure the rule of law; creating a safe, secure and fair environment for business” it is essential for the administration and policy makers to prioritize this issue. Yet this paper will focus on gangs, that are unquestionably posing as a domestic threat for the country.

II. Background and origins of crime in Jamaica

Historical context

The roots of violence in Jamaica can be traced back to the 1530s, when the transatlantic slave trade was at its peak and Jamaica was one of the largest recipients of slaves at the time. Based on an article by the National Library of Jamaica, in 1807 the Slave Trade Abolition bill was passed in the British House of Lords, but it was not until 1831 that the largest slave uprising happened, having enslaved people refusing to obey their masters. The uprising resulted in mass killings but it was a key factor to abolish British slavery by 1834.

It is arguably safe to say that violence has always been somewhat present in Jamaica’s history, but organized crime and gangs did not unfold until a century later, where politics take a crucial role. In the 1940s, supporters of the Jamaica Labor party and the People’s National party were brawling one another for control over the island. This resulted in the modelling of rival gangs and organized networks.

US war on drugs

In 1971, former president Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” during the rise of crime and drug addiction among U.S soldiers and veterans returning from Vietnam, proclaiming that “America’s public enemy number one is the United States is drug abuse”. A study by Tom LoBlanco for CNN stated that the targeting of the outbreak included a series of strict domestic policies, which resulted in violence not only within the states but also overseas.

Disrupting communities of black people per se, became easy once the public associated “hippies and blacks” with drugs such as marijuana and heroin. John Ehrlichman, former counsel and assistant to the president for domestic affairs under Nixon’s term, stated at an interview that not only this was their strategy to fight back the war on drugs but it was also a lie they used to interfere and disrupt communities “We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did” he claimed. (LoBlanco, 2016)

Coke/Manatt affair

Christopher coke also known as “Kingston Kingpin” or “Dudus” was the leader of a violent international gang known as the ‘Shower Posse’, which is still currently placed on the “world’s most dangerous” list of the US justice department. Their activities included, but not limited to drug trafficking from Jamaica to major cities in the United States and importing of small arms and light weapons (SALW) to Jamaica. Dudus was known to be involved with the People’s national Party as he used his wealth to influence politics. He was highly authoritative and appreciated among his loyal communities in Jamaica and seen as a benefactor who provided goods, food and the means for schooling, which is how he gained most of his supporters.

In 2010 Dudus was arrested and when the Jamaican government announced his extradition to the US, local communities spurred in violent chaos, as Dudus’ supporters clashed and attacked police stations. Kingston was declared on a state of emergency which resulted in one of the biggest mobilization of security forces in Jamaica history. Gang members and his supporters heavily armed, barricaded the streets and garrisoned in their turfs banning thousands of people to leave the area, law enforcement operations resulted in the death of over 70 people. (BBC, 2011)

III. Organized crime and gangs

Based on their range of operations, there are different types of organized crime and gangs in Jamaica, community or local based gangs, gangs with connections in other countries and transnational criminal gangs.

Activities and structure

According to the report Confronting the Don: The Political Economy of Gang Violence in Jamaica by Glaister Leslie, a gang is an informal association or organization consisting of three or more people who have a primary objective to collectively commit criminal acts which may create fear or illicit financial gain. Gangs vary by age, gender composition, level of organization, size of territory and the level of involvement with crime and violence. (Leslie, 2010)

Official reports suggest that there are about 260 gangs in Jamaica, 96 of them are in a state of dormancy, while the remaining 164 are active and actively involved in illicit activities. They are predominantly based in the capital Kingston, yet there are numerous criminal records in other parishes such as; Clarendon, Hanover, Portland, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, St. James, St. Mary, St. Thomas, Trelawny and Westmoreland.

Resources and funding

The primary source of funding is drug trafficking, but they sometimes tend to rely on weapons smuggling, extortion, robbery, lottery scams and money-laundering activities. Some may have political influence and they often dominate the informal economic sector as they establish small business and use violence and coercion to compete against legitimate business.

Usually gangs in Jamaica have domestic suppliers and an extensive network, this is because they are relatively small comparing with transnational gangs. Yet, because these groups depend on illicit activities, their structure and financial resources regularly changes in response of pressure from law enforcement. They adapt quickly to domestic and international trends and tend to change suppliers and networks, usually evolving to more sophisticated schemes. (Wilks, Morris et.al)

Motivation for gang membership

Criminal behavior in Jamaica is the result of social disorder, in which elements such poverty, unemployment and lack of education and vulnerability are leading constituents. The deep analysis by Jason Wilks, Morris, Walker, Pedercini and Qu named A Dynamic Analysis of Organized Crime in Jamaica claims that the perceived gain of gangs from criminal activities in Jamaica has also been recognized as a determining factor in other organized criminal gangs such as those in Italy and Colombia. According to the same report another important component is population density, whereas the minimum acute mass of criminals seems to be a necessary precondition for organized crime to take place.

Other distinctive components that could explain the motivation of people and many cases teenagers for gang membership are; power by fear, the skepticism on law enforcement effectiveness and the justice system, and in times the belief that by doing so they will to protect their communities. These factors are crucial in the understanding of high rates of criminality in certain areas.

IV. The impact of crime on national security

Jamaican gangs have overwhelmed police and legal systems, the volume of their violent activities have strained the state’s capacity to overcome this issue. In some cases, these gangs act as “surrogate” governments in poor neighborhoods that are largely abandoned by the state.

The Jamaican crime control initiatives are ineffective largely because of the lack of cooperation between police and residents. The report Jamaica: Gang and Police Violence in the Inner Cities by Amnesty International claims that there are cases in which people are being threatened by gang members, and if they report any abuse to the police because they have the risk of payback attacks. In the other hand, there have numerous instances of human right abuses at the right of police officers. Once the police have recurred to illegal means, the authority and legitimacy becomes corrupted which results in the lack of trust and confidence in the system and security forces.

The drug trade and organized crime

Jamaica remains the largest producer and exporter of illicit drugs. The problem is compounded by the fact that criminal gangs use the elaborate networks originally established to traffic illicit drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, which are traded for money, guns to foster criminal activities. Drug trafficking is not only a serious crime, but it has always been accompanied by organized violence, domestic and international gang activity and corruption.

The political economy of gangs

As stated before, the root of organized violence can be traced back to the electoral disputes between the Jamaica Labor party and the People’s National party, where inner city neighborhoods were divided around this period of time. Beginning in the 1960s, politicians populated inner city-areas and began to arm groups with guns which characterized the earliest political violence. Each group had the defense of its own area and had a single leader also known as “don” who acted as enforcers of political will and loyalty. According to the article Confronting the Don: The Political Economy of gang violence detailed that between 1960 and 1976 the estimate illegal possession of guns in urban areas rose from 8 to 90 per 100.000 inhabitants in the urban areas. By 1980s gangs increasingly became involved in organized crime as drug trade.

The impact of gangs on the economy

Jamaica has a very distinctive economic and social structure compared to other countries in south America and the Caribbean. But the economic change is one of the many issues that has directly impacted the development of crime. The Jamaican economy is dependent on services, yet the country continuous to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism and expenditure. According to the Jamaican observer “tourism and remittances each contributing around US$2 billion or the equivalent of 13% of GDP in 2013” yet if tourism has been operating well for the past years, it cannot increase exponentially and the key to reduce gang violence is to reform the political economy in the nation and potentially decrease spending on welfare services.

The effects of criminal gangs on socio economic development are of various nature; monetary costs, opportunity costs, human capital costs and other non-monetary costs like pain, fear and coercion.

VI. Gang violence reduction efforts

The government of Jamaica has made numerous efforts to reduce violence, yet the government takes effective measure in communities to tighten security and gun control so member will have less access to weapons it will also affect other sectors.

Assuming that gang members come from troubled, low income families it is safe to assume that the government may try to reduce their numbers indirectly by increasing welfare expenditure to poor families. By increasing the expenditure If government wants to address the crime issue it must do so using direct means as much as possible. Any attempt to increase the efficiency of our justice system should also be coupled with expenditure to increase capacity of the prison system. (Leslie 2010)

VII. Conclusion

The issue of violence and crime has been an issue that residents of Jamaica have faced for centuries now, yet crime has evolved in the past few decades. Nowadays criminal gangs have overwhelmed the communities, the police and the government. These gangs depend on illicit activities for their funding and development. Such activities include drug trafficking, gun smuggling, extortion and coercion among others. These activities have a huge impact on the economy of Jamaica for many reasons, but mostly because the economy is highly dependent on tourism.

The dynamic of motivation has been examined and we have reached to the conclusion that there are many dominant factors that elucidate the motivation for gang memberships such as poverty, lack of education and unemployment which are the leading factors among criminal gang in Jamaica. In order to eradicate this dispute, the government is required to step in and prioritize this matter, but in order to actually see change it is absolutely necessary the cooperation between people in communities, armed forces and the government.