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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Pondering what to do</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Henley Morgan
Thursday, February 01, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Listening to the broadcast by the minister of national security one would have been spared pain only to the degree that one is blinded by optimism, politics or ignorance. I'd like to think he did the best he could with what he had, but it brought no joy.<P class=StoryText align=justify>For a starter, the premise on which crime-fighting measures have been based these several years is flawed. The view that the cocaine trade and organised crime account for the significant portion of homicides is not substantiated by the reality on the ground. The fact that the trafficking of cocaine through Jamaica has been reduced from 20 per cent to 2 per cent of the amount going into the United States without any significant or lasting reduction in crime is enough to cause a re-think.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Badness in the society is far more pervasive than that. It is youth against youth; corner against corner. Get a gun and go on a robbery; "jook down" a man and take what he has and maybe his life. More and bigger guns; defend the "ends" from infiltrators who may snitch, or want to share in the spoils. With Kingfish putting the dons under siege, it's each gunman for himself and God for us all. If anything, this is disorganised crime; a far more widespread and insidious form of crime than its organised cousin.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Domestic violence, too, although not raising the same level of alarm as other forms of crime, is claiming a lot of lives. Some 2,862 people were killed in domestic disputes between 1994 and 2004. Prior to 2005, cases in which people who knew each other and had disputes which resulted in death were considered domestic murders. The definition was changed to limit domestic homicide to people who are related by blood, marriage or adoption.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Subsequently, there has been a steep decline in reported murders in this category. This could give the false impression that at least in this area the fight against crime and violence is being won.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Reducing the high level of crime requires cooperation between the various crime-fighting agencies of the state of which there are three under the Ministry of National Security, namely: Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and Department of Correctional Services (DCS). There is also the court system which plays a key role. The minister's presentation lacked balance in its emphasis on the policing aspect of crime control.<P class=StoryText align=justify>One would also have liked to hear more specifics without necessarily giving away the strategy. Take the issue of manning the security forces. In 2005 there were 7,791 men and women in the JCF and 1,341 in the ISCF to give a combined strength of 10,062. The government has approved raising the established number to 12,000. Given the fact that 30 per cent of the force is off at any one time due to vacation, study and sick leave, and that it loses over three per cent of its members annually due to death, retirement and resignation, how adequate is the establishment? In such a desperate situation, is the JDF to be given limited policing powers? What of the DCS? In 2005 the population in the various correctional institutions stood at 3,786 or 30 per cent above the rated capacity of 2,900. If the strategy to take more criminals off the streets works, where will the inmates be housed?<P class=StoryText align=justify>Then there is the vexed issue of mobility of the police. I believe the early 1990s was the last time there was a comprehensive replacement of the fleet utilising some "creative" financing through the National Development Bank. Surely, in the present circumstances, an inj
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Henley Morgan
Thursday, February 01, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Listening to the broadcast by the minister of national security one would have been spared pain only to the degree that one is blinded by optimism, politics or ignorance. I'd like to think he did the best he could with what he had, but it brought no joy.<P class=StoryText align=justify>For a starter, the premise on which crime-fighting measures have been based these several years is flawed. The view that the cocaine trade and organised crime account for the significant portion of homicides is not substantiated by the reality on the ground. The fact that the trafficking of cocaine through Jamaica has been reduced from 20 per cent to 2 per cent of the amount going into the United States without any significant or lasting reduction in crime is enough to cause a re-think.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Badness in the society is far more pervasive than that. It is youth against youth; corner against corner. Get a gun and go on a robbery; "jook down" a man and take what he has and maybe his life. More and bigger guns; defend the "ends" from infiltrators who may snitch, or want to share in the spoils. With Kingfish putting the dons under siege, it's each gunman for himself and God for us all. If anything, this is disorganised crime; a far more widespread and insidious form of crime than its organised cousin.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Domestic violence, too, although not raising the same level of alarm as other forms of crime, is claiming a lot of lives. Some 2,862 people were killed in domestic disputes between 1994 and 2004. Prior to 2005, cases in which people who knew each other and had disputes which resulted in death were considered domestic murders. The definition was changed to limit domestic homicide to people who are related by blood, marriage or adoption.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Subsequently, there has been a steep decline in reported murders in this category. This could give the false impression that at least in this area the fight against crime and violence is being won.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Reducing the high level of crime requires cooperation between the various crime-fighting agencies of the state of which there are three under the Ministry of National Security, namely: Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and Department of Correctional Services (DCS). There is also the court system which plays a key role. The minister's presentation lacked balance in its emphasis on the policing aspect of crime control.<P class=StoryText align=justify>One would also have liked to hear more specifics without necessarily giving away the strategy. Take the issue of manning the security forces. In 2005 there were 7,791 men and women in the JCF and 1,341 in the ISCF to give a combined strength of 10,062. The government has approved raising the established number to 12,000. Given the fact that 30 per cent of the force is off at any one time due to vacation, study and sick leave, and that it loses over three per cent of its members annually due to death, retirement and resignation, how adequate is the establishment? In such a desperate situation, is the JDF to be given limited policing powers? What of the DCS? In 2005 the population in the various correctional institutions stood at 3,786 or 30 per cent above the rated capacity of 2,900. If the strategy to take more criminals off the streets works, where will the inmates be housed?<P class=StoryText align=justify>Then there is the vexed issue of mobility of the police. I believe the early 1990s was the last time there was a comprehensive replacement of the fleet utilising some "creative" financing through the National Development Bank. Surely, in the present circumstances, an inj
Am I the only one that found this funny?
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