Smith Out, McMillan In: The Inner-City Saga Part III

As at May 21, 2008, some 610 murders had been committed in Jamaica since the beginning of the year. Such data continues to act as a sober reminder of the breakdown of law and order which now pervades the island paradise. In fact, the national security crisis remains at the forefront of the expressed concerns of the citizenry and is indeed anathema to the investment and development processes. Indeed, for meaningful solutions to be determined there must be increased cognizance of the complex issues and unique community dynamic that confronts all groupings, irrespective of social stratification. In Part I of the current series of articles, focus was placed on the security concerns and issues facing the residents in the more affluent Seymour Lands, Trafalgar Park, the residential sections of New Kingston and other similar communities across Jamaica, which could easily be replicated across other urban centres in Jamaica. Part II sought to highlight some of the issues confronting the Jamaican Inner-City and Part III will now continue the insightful journey into the prevailing informal security and community justice mechanisms as obtains in some inner-city communities in Jamaica with a view to developing meaningful solutions to the upsurge in crime activity as it affects Jamaica in its totality.

Localized “Justice”
Inner-city communities sometimes have their own form of justice whereby the “Area Leader” or “Don” is deemed to be the informal community judge and if crimes are committed within his jurisdiction and the persons identified they are brought before him to be sentenced. Information discerned suggests that sentences could range from a beating to gang rape of a female relative to murder/torture. For his part the “Don”, who is usually not without his political linkages, is not only viewed as the community protector and enforcer but as a sort of Godfather who dispenses largesse usually procured from drug sales, extortion and from proceeds of criminal activity occurring outside of the respective communities. In the event of a robbery and the Area Leader is contacted by a person of influence or power and is so inclined, the stolen items will be returned. Indeed, it can be said of most inner city and peri-urban communities that the local area leader hinders localized petty crime.

However, the most serious infraction that can be committed in the Jamaican inner-city is for someone to be identified as an “informer” or “police informer”. The punishment for this is death or immediate relocation but usually the former. This designation can be accorded for merely speaking to the police too often, attending the police station for undeclared reasons or genuinely providing some pertinent information to the police. It has been argued however, that some rogue police personnel facilitate this process by dutifully advising their cronies in the criminal underworld of information provided and its source, which usually culminates in the death of that person. Indeed, senior officers in the JCF have stated publicly that persons should be wary of whom they give information.

This is mirrored by similar activity under the rubric of politics. If an inner-city resident who is living in a structured inner-city or other types of inner cities with garrison tendencies, is seen talking too often to a known political opponent, is seen to have accepted money or gifts from that person and /or is perceived to be trying to alter the political status quo that person is required to leave the community quickly or is killed. No real fraternization is encouraged across rival political groups and persons are liable to lose their lives because of this. However, in terms of general criminal activity in the inner-city, this tends to vary on a per community basis as all are subject to periodic flare-ups usually associated with gang warfare or heightened political activity.

There is also a fair degree of “thuggery” and extortion in the inner city with respect to community projects. Indeed, it is the norm that persons from within communities expect to be employed on a project occurring within their sphere irrespective of whether they have requisite skills or not. If they are excluded, this can escalate to threats and actual violence. Further, in some cases the political representative becomes involved and again it is not uncommon that work activity is stalled under orders of the Area Leader unless persons from the community are employed. This matter is further compounded if the work originates from the political directorate. Conflicts can and usually do occur if it is perceived that persons from the “wrong” party has gotten an unfair share of the work e.g. road and sidewalk maintenance, gully cleaning among others.

Under - Reporting of Crime and Social Impact

However, it should be noted at this juncture, that there is a problem of under-reporting of criminal activity (excluding murders) in these communities, largely borne out of fear. It is estimated that only 20 percent of crimes committed are reported. Nevertheless, it is worthy of note that in 2002, 69.1 percent of persons in poorest quintile indicated that they perceived that there was either no chance or a small chance of them becoming a victim of crime versus 63 percent in the highest quintile. Indeed, for those persons believing there was no chance of them becoming a victim of crime, the spread between the poorest and richest quintiles was 11 percentage points which reinforces the notion that persons in the poorest quintile feel safer by way of their informal security systems versus other groups.

Finally, the issue of the penal system must be addressed. Aside from the fact that the prisons are populated in the main by persons from the inner-city, the conditions are reportedly harsh with inmates only allowed to have a 3 minute visit per week with one relative / friend, which does not seem to foster a climate for rehabilitation and hence, there is a high probability for recidivism. Further, primarily due to overcrowding, persons who are charged with offences and are awaiting trial, are sometimes placed at the Horizon Remand Centre or in the penal system. In fact, it is worthy of note that the average time between arrest and trial in Jamaica on, for example, a charge of murder is 4 years. Furthermore, if the person is arrested on a drug charge, the law denies the accused, legal aid. Hence, there is a high degree of resentment fostered by this, which is likely to manifest itself as anti-social behaviour at the community level.

See Also
Smith Out, McMillan In: The Inner-City Saga Part II