Scot-Free
“Punishment is not for revenge, but to lessen crime
and reform the criminal.”- Elizabeth Fry
According to statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) since the start of 2019 Jamaica has recorded 1,071 murders, one less than the number this time in 2018. We have all been impacted by crime and violence. Perhaps, we have lost a sibling, a child, a parent, a cousin, niece or nephew. Maybe, it’s a neighbour or a co-worker, a classmate or batch mate. However, we are at the point in the nation’s history where grieve and profound sadness have come close to home due to the untimely death of a loved one. The Jamaica Constabulary Force data gives us no comfort. What is most disturbing is the news from the Jamaica Constabulary Force that only 239 or 22 per cent of the murders for this year have been cleared up. A case is considered cleared- up when a suspect is arrested and charged. What is clear from the data is that criminals are getting away scot-free with murder. Once you study the data from the JCF you realize that in some police divisions the cleared-up rate is even lower than the national rate of 22 per cent. In St. Andrew South Police Division 145homicides have been recorded to date and only 19 of those killings or 13 per cent have been cleared up. It is widely belief that the murder rate is higher than the statistics the police provide. Earlier this year Prime Minister Andrew Holness lamented on the increase rate of murders. He said that the murder rate was 4.6 per 100,000 members of the population at the time of Independence in 1962. Jamaica has a population of 2.8 million. The rate has jumped to 47.2 per 100,000. The average for Latin American and the Caribbean is 16 per 100,000, the global average is six per 100,000 and the United State's murder rate is about 4.5 per 100,000. The Prime Minister added, “We are at approximately eight times higher than the global average of 6/100,000. Bear in mind that New York, a metropolis of more than eight million people, had a murder rate of 3.3 /100,000 or 289 murders in total,” he added. Jamaica has had a spiraling murder rate for a number of years. In 2012 Jamaica recorded 1,085 murders; in 2013 the number was 1,190. In 2014 the number of murders recorded was 997. In 2017, 1,616 Jamaicans were murdered. The highest recorded number of murders occurred in 2009 when 1,683 Jamaicans were killed.
The Cost of Crime and Violence
There are various estimates of the cost of crime to Jamaica, which range from 3.7 per cent of our GDP, taking only direct costs into account, to 7.1 per cent of GDP, once the indirect costs are included. It cost the Government approximately $400,000 dollars per day to keep a gunshot victim in intensive care. Jamaica sees, on average, approximately 2,000 gunshot victims per year, according to a former minister of National Security. This is approximately $68 billion per year. Just imagine how many schools could have been constructed if we had a lower crime rate. This is a cause for concern not only for those of us living here but to Jamaicans living in the Diaspora. Many Jamaicans who have migrated have contemplated returning but have had to shelf their plans due to the high crime rate. The cost of crime and violence is seen in our underfunded hospitals and even some of our schools. This cost is visible in the poor infrastructural development in some communities. The cost of crime and violence is a clear and present danger not only to our personal safety but to the economic well-being of the nation. The fear of reporting wrongdoing is grounded in our informa fi dead culture. In other words many of us take a see and blind, hear and deaf attitude towards crime and violence. Ironically, we expect someone to come to our assistance when crime comes knocking at our door. Recently, we heard of a nnineteen alleged members of the Westmoreland-based Dexter Street gang freed when they appeared in Kingston's Home Circuit Court. The alleged gangsters, 15 males and four females were charged for breaches of the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act 2014, commonly referred to as the anti-gang legislation. They were released after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions entered a nolle prosequi suspending the matter indefinitely. The reputed gangsters have allegedly been linked to nearly 40 murders in western Jamaica since 2016. Our police and prosecutors are too heavily dependent on eye witness accounts for their case. It is time that more technology based evidence is relied upon to successfully prosecute cases. Sadly, we continue to play politics regarding ways and means to address crime. It is time that we move away from politicizing crime and work towards building a national consensus to tackle this monster in our society. It appears that some sections of the society are benefitting from the high crime rate. The State has a responsibility for the national security of all Jamaicans. As a society we have failed to send a clear message to those who commit crimes that the State is serious about rooting out this scourge in the society. As citizens we have to be mindful of our surroundings and take the necessary precautions since evil is always lurking. In the words of Benigno Aquino 111, the message has to be sent that if you commit a crime there has to be punishment.
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
According to statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) since the start of 2019 Jamaica has recorded 1,071 murders, one less than the number this time in 2018. We have all been impacted by crime and violence. Perhaps, we have lost a sibling, a child, a parent, a cousin, niece or nephew. Maybe, it’s a neighbour or a co-worker, a classmate or batch mate. However, we are at the point in the nation’s history where grieve and profound sadness have come close to home due to the untimely death of a loved one. The Jamaica Constabulary Force data gives us no comfort. What is most disturbing is the news from the Jamaica Constabulary Force that only 239 or 22 per cent of the murders for this year have been cleared up. A case is considered cleared- up when a suspect is arrested and charged. What is clear from the data is that criminals are getting away scot-free with murder. Once you study the data from the JCF you realize that in some police divisions the cleared-up rate is even lower than the national rate of 22 per cent. In St. Andrew South Police Division 145homicides have been recorded to date and only 19 of those killings or 13 per cent have been cleared up. It is widely belief that the murder rate is higher than the statistics the police provide. Earlier this year Prime Minister Andrew Holness lamented on the increase rate of murders. He said that the murder rate was 4.6 per 100,000 members of the population at the time of Independence in 1962. Jamaica has a population of 2.8 million. The rate has jumped to 47.2 per 100,000. The average for Latin American and the Caribbean is 16 per 100,000, the global average is six per 100,000 and the United State's murder rate is about 4.5 per 100,000. The Prime Minister added, “We are at approximately eight times higher than the global average of 6/100,000. Bear in mind that New York, a metropolis of more than eight million people, had a murder rate of 3.3 /100,000 or 289 murders in total,” he added. Jamaica has had a spiraling murder rate for a number of years. In 2012 Jamaica recorded 1,085 murders; in 2013 the number was 1,190. In 2014 the number of murders recorded was 997. In 2017, 1,616 Jamaicans were murdered. The highest recorded number of murders occurred in 2009 when 1,683 Jamaicans were killed.
The Cost of Crime and Violence
There are various estimates of the cost of crime to Jamaica, which range from 3.7 per cent of our GDP, taking only direct costs into account, to 7.1 per cent of GDP, once the indirect costs are included. It cost the Government approximately $400,000 dollars per day to keep a gunshot victim in intensive care. Jamaica sees, on average, approximately 2,000 gunshot victims per year, according to a former minister of National Security. This is approximately $68 billion per year. Just imagine how many schools could have been constructed if we had a lower crime rate. This is a cause for concern not only for those of us living here but to Jamaicans living in the Diaspora. Many Jamaicans who have migrated have contemplated returning but have had to shelf their plans due to the high crime rate. The cost of crime and violence is seen in our underfunded hospitals and even some of our schools. This cost is visible in the poor infrastructural development in some communities. The cost of crime and violence is a clear and present danger not only to our personal safety but to the economic well-being of the nation. The fear of reporting wrongdoing is grounded in our informa fi dead culture. In other words many of us take a see and blind, hear and deaf attitude towards crime and violence. Ironically, we expect someone to come to our assistance when crime comes knocking at our door. Recently, we heard of a nnineteen alleged members of the Westmoreland-based Dexter Street gang freed when they appeared in Kingston's Home Circuit Court. The alleged gangsters, 15 males and four females were charged for breaches of the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act 2014, commonly referred to as the anti-gang legislation. They were released after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions entered a nolle prosequi suspending the matter indefinitely. The reputed gangsters have allegedly been linked to nearly 40 murders in western Jamaica since 2016. Our police and prosecutors are too heavily dependent on eye witness accounts for their case. It is time that more technology based evidence is relied upon to successfully prosecute cases. Sadly, we continue to play politics regarding ways and means to address crime. It is time that we move away from politicizing crime and work towards building a national consensus to tackle this monster in our society. It appears that some sections of the society are benefitting from the high crime rate. The State has a responsibility for the national security of all Jamaicans. As a society we have failed to send a clear message to those who commit crimes that the State is serious about rooting out this scourge in the society. As citizens we have to be mindful of our surroundings and take the necessary precautions since evil is always lurking. In the words of Benigno Aquino 111, the message has to be sent that if you commit a crime there has to be punishment.
Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.
waykam@yahoo.com
@WayneCamo
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We need a justice system that works. The one that exist is not doing much at all and the few that's cleared takes way too long to get cleared
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, the powers that be seem to benefit from this high crime rate which is why "THEY" have not sought to change legislations to deter criminals. So if i know that all i need is a good lawyer then commit whatever crimes, then i wouldn't fear doing it or being caught. Cause within days am back on the street to do it yet again.
ReplyDeleteAm worried for Jamaica and its scary living here.