'Don't ease up' - Business heads wary of war on crime losing steam
Published:Thursday | January 6, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer
The Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), the organisation that represents a wide cross section of local businesses, says it is "extremely concerned" that a commitment to dismantle garrisons, given by the Government and the police following the Christopher 'Dudus' Coke extradition saga last May, has failed to materialise.
At the same time, JCC President Milton Samuda says the war on crime, kick-started by a series of police and military operations aimed at capturing Coke, appears to be losing momentum.
"It may not be so because the police can't share all their details with us, but it does appear that since the May incursion we have taken our foot off the gas," Samuda told The Gleaner.
He argued that the sharp decline in major crimes following "the resolute manner" in which west Kingston was handled is an indication of the kind of success that could be achieved if all garrisons were dismantled.
"They don't present the challenge to the State which was presented, but deal with them in a strategic manner driven by intelligence and with the social services following right behind it," the JCC president suggested.
Police statistics show that 747 murders were recorded in the five months preceding the Tivoli Gardens incursion. Since then, 634 murders were recorded up to the third week of last month.
Deputy Police Commissioner Glenmore Hinds, in a swift response, said the police gave no commitment to dismantle garrisons and suggested it was not an issue for the force to address.
However, Hinds, who is in charge of operations, admitted that the police gave an undertaking to pursue an aggressive anti-gang strategy and said this was done.
"We would have disrupted several gangs, we have arrested some key gang members, we have opened proceeds-of-crime investigations against some and we have seized the assets of other gang members," Hinds reported.
He said this aggressive anti-gang strategy would be an integral part of all police operations this year.
Numerous attempts to get a response from National Security Minister Dwight Nelson were unsuccessful.
Human-rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) however, warned that the gains made by the security forces could be wiped out by the failure of the State to implement long overdue social-intervention programmes.
JFJ Executive Director Dr Carolyn Gomes said the absence of meaningful justice reforms, effective police reforms and structured community-intervention strategies could further undermine the efforts of the security forces.
"If the only tactics that are employed is killing people and heavy-foot policing, then the numbers (major crimes) will go up again," Gomes told The Gleaner.
Samuda charged that crime remains a critical deterrent to investment and must continue to get priority attention and not be placed on the back burner "because we are fooled by the initial success".