Anti-gang legislation could impact entertainment industry

Garfene Grandison, Gleaner Writer

The Jamaican entertainment industry would not be as unique without artistes having an entourage and the diverse dance cliques that are so prominent in our dancehall fraternity. But, could all this be threatened by the passing of the new anti-gang legislation?

Recent developments have led the Minister of National Security Dwight Nelson to announce to Parliament, plans to introduce Anti-gang legislation as part of the Government's efforts to curtail crime in Jamaica.

According to information from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), the minister said the legislation, "which the ministry is seeking to pursue in collaboration with several key stakeholders, is intended to target, infiltrate and dismantle gangs, and identify and arrest all members."

However, will such a bill affect the entertainment industry in the long run? Many share the view that it might have implications in both the long and short term, while other detractors think that it might not have any negative implications on the entertainment industry in Jamaica.

Orville Hall of Dance Expressionz said, "It depends on what they call a group and the number of persons in that group. In dancehall there are large entourages with artistes such as Bounty, Beenie, Mavado, Kartel and others but, for that, they should just ensure that there are strict policing measures at events. Groups of people in public spaces might cause one to grow suspicious, but seeing a group of people in the dancehall you cannot automatically call that a gang, it's just people who want to party and 'par' together," he stated.

Not in the dance

Hall said that if such a legislation should be passed, then the policing should be done within the communities rather than in the dancehall because, "gangs don't come out and walk in the streets; they stay and strategise within their own space."

Based on all that he has read and heard, Hall is pretty convinced that the passing of such a legislation would not affect the entertainment industry. "Me nuh see it a really affect dancehall still, unless dem come inna a dance and see 20 man ah stan up and arrest dem," he ended.

The minister further stated that the legislation would seek to impose longer sentences on gang members, in order to minimise their ability to reorganise, as well as to provide a window of opportunity for law enforcement to refocus their community policing efforts to prevent other gangs from taking over the community. In the minister's address, he stated that the preliminary findings of the 2009 Gang Threat Assessment Survey, undertaken by the ministry and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), revealed that, as of July 2009, there were some 268 gangs operating in 16 of the JCF's 19 policing divisions, islandwide.

When The Gleaner contacted Clyde Mckenzie, he declined to comment on the matter on the basis that he was not adequately informed on the matter at hand. "I haven't had a chance to read any material on the matter as yet, but it could either affect the dancehall indirectly or directly, but I cannot give a solid statement on the matter," he said.

According to publicist Sean 'Jigga' Miller from Mile High Entertainment, the legislation will be a welcoming change to all, especially artistes.

Entertainers not immune

"I believe that some entertainers will welcome the anti-gang legislation because they are citizens of the country, and as shown by the death of Oneil Edwards, and the shooting incident involving DJ Cobra, they are not immune from the gun violence that plague much of Jamaica. The concern that I have is that there is a big gap between the enactment of laws in Jamaica and the actual enforcement of these laws.

Another well-known publicist who wished to speak on anonymity had quite the opposite view, as he says, "the reality is that entertainers have always been linked to criminal elements because of the culture of the dancehall. Deep-pocketed drug dealers and gunrunners have financed the industry for years, funnelling money through stage shows, dub plates, sound systems, etcetera, so there is an umbilical cord between the underworld and dancehall. Some artistes have even taken it a step further and aligned themselves to certain gangs, maybe because they grew up with the gang leaders or lived in inner-city communities where these gangs flourish. That's just the reality of the situation, therefore the passage of the legislation might be of some assistance."

Quite skeptical about what to expect from this piece of new legislation is opposition spokesman on security, Dr Peter Phillips who said, "I haven't seen such a document, as yet and I do not know the terms so I'm just awaiting specific details. There is no doubt in my mind that there needs to be a specific legislature to confront the criminal militias in this country and I'm hoping that this document will allow for organised crime to be combated."

Phillips declined to comment on the impact that the new legislation might have on the dancehall and entertainment industry in Jamaica due to his lack of knowledge on the content of the legislation. However, he was concerned that this new bill "doesn't target every youth on the corner, instead of the organised criminal elements in the society," for whom it is intended.