Many people are hoping that the events of the last few weeks will result in garrison communities across Jamaica being dismantled. The existence of these mini-states, created and run first by political and then by criminal interests for several decades now, has seriously undermined any hope for a sustained reduction in the levels of violent crime...

It was the stuff of area legend for a long time - an ugly incident by any standard, yet one discussed with a macabre sense of humour among residents of sections of west Kingston. It is not unconnected to recent happenings in Tivoli Gardens and surrounding areas.