ROUGH DRAFT OF MY ARGUMENTATIVE ESSY

There needs to be an immediate revamping, reorganizing and reshaping of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) .The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), which is the main body responsible for policing in Jamaica, is not making any progress to stop the continuous rise of gang activity in Jamaica and unlawful killings by police officers. The Bureau of Special Investigation reported that between 2000 and 2007, 1422 people were killed and a further 1115 were injured by police in Jamaica making it one of the highest rates of police killings in the Americas. The most common problem which is associated with policing in Jamaica is corruption. This corruption results in the failure of the Government to protect people in inner city communities from gangs and police violence. Most of the crime and violence which occur in Jamaica is related to gang activity. Jamaica is a small Caribbean island of just over 2.5 million people and it’s known to have one of the worst murder rates in the world. The Board of the Jamaica Constabulary Force needs to go back to the drawing board and lay out new policies and programs so as to ensure for effective policing to wipe out criminal gangs, corruption within the police force and unlawful killings in Jamaica.

Most organized gangs in Jamaica are located in the inner city neighborhoods, which is generally abandoned by police forces and the society at large. People who live in these neighborhoods are usually poverty stricken, unemployed and lack the basic necessities of life. Gang leaders in these inner city neighborhoods tend to control the lives of people living there. They collect taxes, distribute jobs, food and punish those who disobey or break gang rules. Men and young boys are at the greatest risk of violence as they are the ones who are mostly targeted by gang members for recruitment in criminal gangs. These men and young boys also have to follow orders by carrying out special tasks which they cannot refuse to do as they fear what might be done to themselves and their families. There was a situation where one woman told Amnesty International that her neighbor’s 12-year-old son was sent by a gang to another community, carrying a gun. The boy was robbed on his way there and he knew that he was going to be killed if he came back without the gun and without the money, so he ran away .The mother was killed the following morning. Many women in these communities are also affected by gangs .They has to involuntarily engage in sexual activities with members of the gangs. If they don’t they risk themselves and members of their family dying. Most women in these inner city communities are also single parents as the father of their child was victim of gang violence. “Informer fi dead”, this is a phrase use in Jamaica which states that anyone who inform on another should die. Residents who witness gang killings in their communities are afraid to go to the cops because they know that there’s a great chance that they are going to be killed. This shows how greatly affected and feared people are of criminal gangs.

In 2006 the JCF recorded a 15% overall reduction in major crimes. However on the flip side this showed that in 2006 the rate of major crime committed was a whopping 85%. This showed that the actual occurring of major crimes was more than five times the reduction which proved to be not so much of an achievement by the JCF after all.

A poll published by the Jamaica Gleaner in January 2007 found that Jamaicans believed that every other police officer was corrupt. Many residents in inner city communities believed that police officers were directly apart of criminal activities on numerous occasions. There were numerous cases where people would relay information to the police and they were killed before the police reach the community. Many believed that corrupt officers told the gang leaders who the informers were .The actions of corrupt cops who leak information to criminals add to the resistance in communities to provide helpful information to the security forces. By revealing the identity of sources of information people’s lives are put at risk .The fear of retaliation is so great, particularly in hot-spot communities, that breaking the vicious cycle of crime and police involvement has become an extraordinary task. In the 2006 Road Map to a Safe and Secure Jamaica which is a report of the Special task Force on Crime in Jamaica reported that JCF personnel of different ranks expressed the view that majority of their senior officers were corrupt or tolerated corruption within the force. The report also provided number of corrupt practices which has become very common .These include selling gun licenses and ammunition , dropping charges for serious offences, warning criminal gangs of planned police actions and removing or tampering with evidence. It was reported by the Jamaican Gleaner newspaper that in the beginning of 2006, police personnel were involve in unlawful activities such as the infamous 'lottery scam', which has been blamed for an increase in recent murders across the parish, drug dealing, incidents of extortion and a most embarrassing incident in which a police vest, which was not reported missing, was found in the hands of criminals. The Jamaica Gleaner once wrote about a cop who confessed that he was corrupted for the first 18 years of his 20 years in the force."My introduction to corruption came about two weeks after graduating from the Police Academy," admits the police officer. "A woman constable and I were detailed for a 12 to six mobile patrol duty along with an acting corporal, who is now a superintendent of police," the 20-year veteran confesses to The Sunday Gleaner. He continued: "The acting corporal drove a nice car, was outspoken and very popular. He had about nine years service and boasted of many accomplishments. He made it clear that nothing was wrong with making money, but we simply had to know how to do it."

The stated values of the JCF is, “We serve, protect and reassure with courtesy, integrity and proper respect for the rights of all”, but this does not represent the dominant culture of the JCF nor how the public perceive police. The dominant culture of the JCF is that of command and control which has severely hindered its effectiveness. It promotes prejudice, thus serving to distance the police from communities which foster a culture of fear among the general public. This has also lead to the failure of the police to protect people in gang violence prone communities. People who live in these areas are usually discriminated against. There is a particular stigma that is associated with communities where gang violence is rampant. Police tend to treat everyone in the community as criminal and police abuse and violence tends to be very common.

Unlawful killings otherwise known as extrajudicial executions within the police force are very typical. In many cases the attempts to cover up the evidence, the “code of silence” among the security forces and the absence of efficient investigation are very common. In an article written by the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper it provided the Amnesty International Full Report which showed that Amnesty International has documented many cases of police brutality, some resulting into torture. Victims commonly include criminal suspects and their relatives, as well as children and women. Documented methods have included beatings, burns with hot irons, suffocation in water and mock executions. Another incident reported by the Jamaica Observer newspaper in March of 2008 talked about a cop who allegedly shot a 10 year old child and is still on the run to this date. Investigators said Constable Walter Spikes who was accused of killing the child, left the island before a warrant was issued for his arrest, based on a ruling by the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions in December 2003.Spikes is accused of killing the child as he chased a youth on foot, who was smoking a ganja spliff in a nearby market. The ex-cop allegedly fired his weapon at the drug offender but the bullet hit young Renee instead. Renee died on the spot from a single bullet wound to the back of the head. Her death sparked a massive demonstration in Jamaica.

The condition within the JCF can be fixed with the establishment of an independent body of investigation, with the right kind of leadership and with the full cooperation of key police officers and other respected individuals. This independent body would be responsible for monitoring and overseeing police actions and misconduct and to ensure that the JCF is operating effectively. The Anti Corruption Unit of the JCF needs to implement more effective and efficient plans to combat corruption. The police federation must become more aggressive and begin to get rid of the corrupt cops from its ranks. There also needs to be an expansion of a counter –gang task force which will have as its main responsibility the identification and pursuit of gangsters. There also needs to be a more secure witness protection program so people can be less fearful to report crime which they witness. Many people fear reporting crimes because they know that they will not be protected and as such they would be victims of brutal deaths. There’s a great distrust of citizens towards police officers. I believe that the JCF should set up an agency to build bonds and trust between police and citizens. The Jamaica Constabulary Force also needs to retrain police in the legitimate use of force and alternatives to the use of firearms so as to prevent unlawful killings and deaths of innocent people.

With these changes within the Jamaica Constabulary Force and implementations of new policies gang activity, corruption and unlawful killings will reduce drastically