National Security Minister Peter Phillips, (centre), Sir Ian Blair, (left) London's Metropoliton Commissioner of Police and Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas at a joint press conference in Jamaica last year. - Norman Grindley/ Deputy Chief Photographer
WHILE FEWER persons are being deported to Jamaica from the United States, England and Canada, the concern about deportee involvement in criminal activities remains high.
The number of people deported to Jamaica has dropped by nearly 22 per cent, recent statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) statistics department reveal.
The figure is the lowest in three years with the bulk of people being deported from the United States of America. Some 1,506 people were deported from the U.S. while 1,273 were deported from England.
ALWAYS INVOLVED IN CRIME
Head of Operation Kingfish, Assistant Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds, said deportees have always been involved in criminal activity, however, the level of involvement cannot be quantified
"We have not been able to quantify, because there is nothing that demands that anybody must declare that they are deportees. We only find out that they are deportees when there are bloody battles for turf, and somebody is killed or when they are otherwise identified or arrested."
Deportees, by and large, are free persons.
There is a law that allows for monitoring of those who are known to be high risk or are violent. The police has to apply to the court to get permission to track such persons.
LENDING THEIR SKILLS
"The majority of those who return are not involved in criminal activity, but there are some who commit perfect crimes abroad and lend their skills to local gangs, for example, the drive-by shootings that you see in some communities. This is coming from abroad," the ACP said.
Last year, there was a shift in the deportation pattern as over 58 per cent of the deportees were sent home for criminal offences. Some 42 per cent of them were for drug and firearm offences and murder.
The number of persons who are sent home for breaching immigration laws has dropped by eight per cent to 1,381.
DRUG-RELATED
DEPORTATIONS FEWER
With the installation of the Ionscan machines at the local airports and more international stringency since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, persons being found with narcotics also became fewer. Hence, the number of deportees for reasons of drug possession decreased by 36 per cent.
More Jamaicans have been charged with illegal possession of firearm and murder/ manslaughter in Canada and other countries (outside of the U.S. and England). This has pushed up the number of deportees from these areas to the island.
The number of people deported from Canada and other countries for illegal possession of firearm increased from three to 11 people in 2005, while 41 people were deported for manslaughter/murder. This increased from only three people in 2004.
A U.S.-government commissioned study in 2004 by University of the West Indies professor of criminology, Bernard Headley said the deportees' contribution to murder was minimal. His study showed that of over 5,000 Jamaicans sent back from the United States between 1997 and 2003, very few were guilty of murder. Moreover, he said, the United States government assessed all convicted deportees before they were released to society.
But the Ministry of National Security disputed those findings. Permanent Secretary Gilbert Scott argued that a large number of criminal deportees were involved in serious crimes, particularly drug-related activities.
A 2001 preliminary study by the ministry showed that at least 20 per cent of Jamaicans with no family ties sought refuge in inner-city gangs. Police data show that gang violence was responsible for 19 per cent of murders last year, while only one per cent was drug related.
In November of 2004, an article by the Associated Press (AP) also contradicted the findings of the university. AP interviewed 300 police, deportees, church and government officials in Jamaica and abroad.
DEPORTEES RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY MURDERS IN JA
The article reported that deportees are responsible for hundreds of murders in Jamaica. It said one of every 106 males over 15 was a criminal deportee from the United States.
Last May, Minister of National Security Dr. Peter Phillips said his ministry would undertake a study of the relationship between deportees and crime in Jamaica.
In 2001, Jamaican researcher Annmarie Barnes from the University of Toronto in Canada and a consultant attached to the Ministry of National Security, was in the process of completing a CARICOM study on deportees in the region, with a section that would focus entirely on Jamaica.
