Denise E. Antonio | Peace, security are key for sustainable development – Part I …The cost of insecurity; potential denied?

Crime and violence rob a nation of its true potential by deflating its productivity and growth, limiting access to its brightest minds, and rechannelling critical resources away from development targets.

As a relative newcomer to this beautiful country, I sense that Jamaica’s true greatness has been severely restrained because of the ongoing challenges posed by crime and violence and the rising costs it imposes.

The cost of crime, for example, has been tallied at approximately five per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) or over US$500 million per year, by former Minister of National Security Robert Montague. “If crime was reduced by half, the economy would grow by 2.5 per cent without the investment of a single additional dollar,” he is reported to have said.

In 2017, Jamaica’s homicide rate was 56 per 100,000; in 2018, the homicide rate dropped to 47 per 100,000, but remains three times higher than the average for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Jamaica’s relatively small population cannot sustain the trauma of these mind-boggling rates without impacting its human and sustainable development potential.

As the nation stays the course of its multidimensional security strategy, it may be useful to keep an eye on new and emerging factors driving crime and insecurity within Latin American and the Caribbean. Shocks from climate change have long entered the global discourse on human insecurity and are gaining some recognition among vulnerable small island developing states. Climate change has a disruptive impact on livelihoods, incomes, cost of living and security. It can reduce the income of farmers and the food supply; dislocate populations, increase energy costs with multiplier impact on the costs of living, and reduce a government’s ability to provide appropriate social safety net mechanisms.

Among the other drivers are the more familiar, which, when taken together, paint a picture of inequality, unfair distribution of services and impunity.

These include:

1 A high rate of recidivism among young males.

2 The Caribbean’s role as a major trans-shipment zone for illegal drugs and illicit trade in small arms.

3 A culture of violence due to toxic masculinities causing high rates of violence against women.

4 Inter-gang rivalry.

5 Growth in human trafficking. 

6 High levels of youth unemployment; corruption, extortion and fraud.

7 Inadequately responsive institutions and governance systems.

There is a significant cost incurred as a result of these ongoing and emerging factors which redirect resources away from development programmes.

For example, crime and violence may be costing us 50 per cent of our potential workforce, including our next generation of leaders. Administrative data show that the main victims and perpetrators of violent crimes are young males between the ages of 16 and 24. Women and girls, on the other hand, are the main victims of sexual crimes. One in four women (25.2 per cent) has experienced physical violence by a male partner, and 7.7 per cent has been sexually abused by their male partner. Battered women lose productive hours and their children suffer trauma and are likely to drop out of school.

Jamaica must keep its eye on lower productivity/high unemployment rates, as reported by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica. While rates of unemployment have fallen to a historic low of 7.8 per cent in the general population as reported July 2019; to 19.5 per cent as reported April 2019 among youth 14-24 years; and to 25.8 per cent among female youth, it is clear our strategies must be inclusive and gender-sensitive, by redoubling efforts to focus on both male and female youth.

Poverty-reducing initiatives are not only welcome, they are critical in order to undermine the opportunities for criminal activity and rechannel human resources to high potential productive opportunities. The rate increased by 2.2 per cent to 19.3 per cent in 2017 when compared to 17.1 per cent in 2016 ( Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions).

An increasing influx of involuntary returned migrants (IRMs) from mainly USA, Canada and the United Kingdom could be a significant cause for concern unless we seek to strategically engage IRMs to areas of work that can impact national growth.

Alas, many Caribbean countries lack a coordinated national system to manage IRMs, some of whom add to the criminal burden of the countries.

[In Part II, UNDP Resident Representative Denise E Antonio critically evaluates UNDP contributions to Jamaica’s peace and security, and outlines how Jamaica’s best days are ahead with crime and violence curtailed.]

Denise E. Antonio serves as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for Jamaica, The Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Connect with Denise on Twitter @Antonio67Denise. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com