The jamaican gang gets too much credit for sophistication...

[HL]

Seems to me like basic intelligence gathering through infiltration is not used in local policing of gangs.

I don't think jamaican gangs are that sophisticated...

I think that good intelligence gathering--will expose the 'gentlemen' in dark-blue expensive executive suits as the support system for crime.

These men will turn out to be prominent business and government leaders. They belong to both parties. Yu'all know their names.

"Send a thief to catch a thief".

[Lazie]

"intelligence " .... wasn't that the favourite word of Renato Adams? How many criminals him ever arrest?

[Historian]

Re: Too Much Credit

HL, you’ve made a damn good point, although I would rephrase “I don’t think Jamaican gangs are that sophisticated” and leave it simply as “I don’t think Jamaican gangs are sophisticated.” The pronoun “that” makes those asses sound a bit sophisticated, when they are as far from sophistication as the North Pole is from the South!

Here’s my take on the situation: Jamaica’s policemen have traditionally been drawn from the less educated and less intellectually inclined members of the society. To tell the truth, they’ve traditionally been little more than gloried security guards, and there’s no sophistication in their thinking or actions! (Personally, I’ve always suspected that the relatively few police women in the force are naturally intellectually superior to their male counterparts.) Back in the 1980s when an effort was made to encourage university grads to join the force, the entrenched officers kicked up a big storm!

But look at the situation today. How many policemen are computer literate in any fairly advanced sense? How many police stations have computers or even photocopiers?

Jamaica’s criminal element (the actual shottas), probably as much as or even more than the average policeman, tend to be not inclined in a particular intellectual direction, although they are sometimes smart in a simple, commonsense way; in other words, street smart. Outside of the movies, there is nothing at all sophisticated about the average shotta, as only a blasted fool would go around killing women and children (in particular) and shooting up whole neighborhoods!! How many shotta know how to “google” information on the internet, and even answer questions from a simple comprehension passage?

Sophisticated? Give me a break!

Anyway, just sit back and think carefully about this scenario of unsophisticated, often intellectually-challenged elements on both sides of the fence (the lawmen and the law breakers) and guess what we end up with? And we wonder if Jamaica is in serious trouble?!

[Historian]

Correction: "glorified security guards"

Correction: To tell the truth, they’ve been little more than “glorified” security guards

[HL]

Historian, the pronoun "that" was consciously included to appease some forumites...

Very good eye on your part!

[Time]

It is true that traditionaly it was the 'less educated' that entered the force and that the force resisted the graduate entry programme however that situation started changing in late 80s when the force begun to target high school for recruits and a number of officer also went to UWI. Graduates also started trickling in though the graduate entry programme, however that program is not available every year (I believe it is available every four years.)

What is true then and now is that it is the less financially fortunate of the society that end up in the force. Among these less financially fortunate souls you will find many bright people.

So where are the bright people? The vast majority of bright people go straight from the training school to 'office police' The public rarely encounter the bright policemen. The final problem is that is the bright ones usually leave after 5 years.