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Gang siege
2008-05-31 Written by: No Author 
Security personnel arrest a man accused of harassing visitors along the hip strip in Montego Bay yesterday.
How to deal with inter-gang rivalry, which has been identified as one of the primary drivers of the homicides now gripping the country, is expected to top the list of initiatives on the police’s crime plan.
Last week’s flare-up in Rockfort, East Kingston, and Alman Town, Central Kingston, two of several flashpoints in the Corporate Area, is being seen as just the tip of the iceberg. From sections of St. Thomas, almost all the inner-city communities in the Corporate Area, in addition to Spanish Town, Clarendon and St. James, the picture is similar — gang rivalry is on the increase.
Inter-group conflicts tend to drive the murder rate more rapidly than individual conflicts, says criminologist, Professor Anthony Harriott. In his latest book, ‘Understanding Crime in Jamaica’, Professor Harriott noted that the scale of conflict is “multiplied, as larger numbers of persons are usually involved in inter-group conflicts and more resources are easily mobilised for these conflicts, including guns.”
The fact that all members of groups in conflict suffer liability for the actions of each of their members explains the multiple killings. This includes relatives of both victims and attackers in recent weeks, police investigators theorise.
Four gangs at each other’s throat for supremacy in Rockfort, which has accounted for more than 20 murders, exemplifies the nature of the gang-related violence rocking that and other communities.
The main protagonists in the Rockfort debacle comprises dissidents from a group linked to strongman Tony Brown, who are believed to be behind most of the clashes since last year. From all indications, the dissidents are fighting for control of the lower sections of Rockfort, stretching from Lucas Road to the Jamaica Flour Mills. More than 20 persons have been killed, dozens of houses burnt, and scores displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict.
After a short lull, the conflict resumed last week, during which several homes along D’Aguilar Road were torched. One influential figure in the area, ‘Charlie Wap’, who led the breakaway faction from Brown’s group, is now back in the original fold after his cronies murdered his 70-year-old grandmother and his nine-year-old son Mutumbo last October. Now Charlie Wap is wanted in connection with the latest flare-up.
Reprisals
Reprisals by gang members are also theorised to be behind the killings in Alman Town, where gunmen killed three persons and injured five others last week. From a Sunday Herald probe into the incident, it has emerged that a conflict between gangs at Johns Lane and Wild Street, the only Jamaica Labour Party stronghold in that section of the Central Kingston constituency, was at the heart of last week’s killings in Alman Town.
Two men, Christopher Stewart and Omar McKenzie, from Wild Street were ambushed and gunned down on Slipe Road a week before Wednesday’s attack. According to sources, men from Wild Street decided to avenge the killings. It was not clear if those who carried out the attack last week on Slipe Road were connected with the victims — two women and a man — on Prince of Wales Street. They are 26-year-old Margaret Campbell, otherwise called ‘Tina’, Lenroy Moreland, 23, and Icylyn Reid, otherwise called ‘Man Royal’.
Reid also called ‘Denise’, who residents say cooperated with the killers, was attacked and killed the day after the drive-by shooting, which claimed the lives of the two other community members.
The attacks illustrated Professor Harriott’s observations that all members of the groups in conflict are treated as potential targets, including soft targets, if individual offenders cannot be found.
Professor Harriott, who is currently updating murder statistics for his upcoming book, cited data for the years 1983 to 1997, showing from inter-personal to inter-group conflicts as the main categories of conflict driving the murder rate. Multiple killings, which are a feature of gang warfare, increased from 7.4 per cent in 1983 to 8.6 per cent as a proportion of all murders.
As gang warfare continues, investigators say the country is likely to see increased frequency of incidents of multiple and mass murder of persons who may not be directly involved as combatants.
2008-05-31 Written by: No Author Security personnel arrest a man accused of harassing visitors along the hip strip in Montego Bay yesterday.
How to deal with inter-gang rivalry, which has been identified as one of the primary drivers of the homicides now gripping the country, is expected to top the list of initiatives on the police’s crime plan.
Last week’s flare-up in Rockfort, East Kingston, and Alman Town, Central Kingston, two of several flashpoints in the Corporate Area, is being seen as just the tip of the iceberg. From sections of St. Thomas, almost all the inner-city communities in the Corporate Area, in addition to Spanish Town, Clarendon and St. James, the picture is similar — gang rivalry is on the increase.
Inter-group conflicts tend to drive the murder rate more rapidly than individual conflicts, says criminologist, Professor Anthony Harriott. In his latest book, ‘Understanding Crime in Jamaica’, Professor Harriott noted that the scale of conflict is “multiplied, as larger numbers of persons are usually involved in inter-group conflicts and more resources are easily mobilised for these conflicts, including guns.”
The fact that all members of groups in conflict suffer liability for the actions of each of their members explains the multiple killings. This includes relatives of both victims and attackers in recent weeks, police investigators theorise.
Four gangs at each other’s throat for supremacy in Rockfort, which has accounted for more than 20 murders, exemplifies the nature of the gang-related violence rocking that and other communities.
The main protagonists in the Rockfort debacle comprises dissidents from a group linked to strongman Tony Brown, who are believed to be behind most of the clashes since last year. From all indications, the dissidents are fighting for control of the lower sections of Rockfort, stretching from Lucas Road to the Jamaica Flour Mills. More than 20 persons have been killed, dozens of houses burnt, and scores displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict.
After a short lull, the conflict resumed last week, during which several homes along D’Aguilar Road were torched. One influential figure in the area, ‘Charlie Wap’, who led the breakaway faction from Brown’s group, is now back in the original fold after his cronies murdered his 70-year-old grandmother and his nine-year-old son Mutumbo last October. Now Charlie Wap is wanted in connection with the latest flare-up.
Reprisals
Reprisals by gang members are also theorised to be behind the killings in Alman Town, where gunmen killed three persons and injured five others last week. From a Sunday Herald probe into the incident, it has emerged that a conflict between gangs at Johns Lane and Wild Street, the only Jamaica Labour Party stronghold in that section of the Central Kingston constituency, was at the heart of last week’s killings in Alman Town.
Two men, Christopher Stewart and Omar McKenzie, from Wild Street were ambushed and gunned down on Slipe Road a week before Wednesday’s attack. According to sources, men from Wild Street decided to avenge the killings. It was not clear if those who carried out the attack last week on Slipe Road were connected with the victims — two women and a man — on Prince of Wales Street. They are 26-year-old Margaret Campbell, otherwise called ‘Tina’, Lenroy Moreland, 23, and Icylyn Reid, otherwise called ‘Man Royal’.
Reid also called ‘Denise’, who residents say cooperated with the killers, was attacked and killed the day after the drive-by shooting, which claimed the lives of the two other community members.
The attacks illustrated Professor Harriott’s observations that all members of the groups in conflict are treated as potential targets, including soft targets, if individual offenders cannot be found.
Professor Harriott, who is currently updating murder statistics for his upcoming book, cited data for the years 1983 to 1997, showing from inter-personal to inter-group conflicts as the main categories of conflict driving the murder rate. Multiple killings, which are a feature of gang warfare, increased from 7.4 per cent in 1983 to 8.6 per cent as a proportion of all murders.
As gang warfare continues, investigators say the country is likely to see increased frequency of incidents of multiple and mass murder of persons who may not be directly involved as combatants.