Lead Stories

Tyrone Reid, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

Now that their area don is gone, many young girls and grown women in Tivoli Gardens fear that rape and other crimes will become features of the community's daily life.

But the police are adamant that the former fiefdom of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke will be transformed into a model community.

Even if it takes an entire generation to be accomplished, the police are determined to ensure that Dudus is Tivoli's last strongman.

"It will continue to be a community, but what will change is that it will not go back to being ruled by a don. That we are sure of," said a high-level cop from west Kingston, who asked not be named.

But the lawmen are cognisant that transforming Tivoli Gardens will not be a cakewalk. "Re-socialisation and re-culturing doesn't happen in a day. It might not happen in this lifetime, but the next generation coming," added the senior cop.

The cop revealed that it was mostly the adults who were resisting the change being promulgated by the police and other stakeholders. "There is always resistance to change, but that has never stopped change," said the cop, who stressed that Police Commissioner Owen Ellington was "really pushing the community policing".

The younger residents are more open to the re-socialisation being introduced by the police, said the cop, who also pointed out that the effort to re-acculturate residents of Tivoli who were dependent on the dons is a multifaceted approach that emphasises self-reliance through skills training.

Strong contingent of cops

Before the May 24 incursion, lawmen rarely attempted to enter Tivoli Gardens to carry out normal policing, but now, there is a strong contingent of soldiers in the community, and a police post has been established within the bowels of the community once labelled "the mother of all garrisons".

The cop revealed that more than 40 police officers are now in the community carrying out various tasks.

Although never formally elected, Coke, who was extradited to the United States on Thursday, sat as the 'President' of the west Kingston stronghold loyal to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Prime Minister Bruce Golding sits as member of parliament for the area, but only the naive believe he has wielded the power and control of the 'President'

Dudus was the latest member of the Coke dynasty of dons who have held the reins in Tivoli for approximately a quarter of a century.

Now that things have changed, many residents are fearful.

Fifteen-year-old Delcita, a grade-nine student at the Tivoli Gardens High School, is one of them.

"People a go come in from out of port and rape and kill when the security forces leave. Dem (rapes and murders) a go happen because man a look little pickney already," she said.

By now, our news team was surrounded by the students, who were apparently on a break.

Her friend, Kay-Kay, 15, also a grade-nine student at the Tivoli Gardens High School, expressed similar concerns.. "Down here not going to run like how it fi run, cause you don't have any bigger heads round here," she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Bella, who calls the extradited area leader 'Uncle Mikey,' said he was the one responsible for getting her into school.

And, while she has a problem with the 6 p.m. curfew being imposed by the security forces, she spoke glowingly about the 8 p.m. curfew Dudus imposed on students from the community.

While the young girls feared the imminent change, 17-year-old Andrésaid it would be more of the same. The high-school student thinks the old Tivoli with its way of doing things will operate under the radar of the security forces. "Same place, same way it a go run. More don live on (because) the younger generation is there," he said with a defiant certainty.

Names changed on request.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com