Crime concerns rise

No. 1 problem for nearly 60% of Jamaicans - poll

It wasn't even close. Despite tough economic times triggered by a global recession, crime and violence remains the most urgent concern for most Jamaicans.

A Gleaner-commissioned poll, conducted by Bill Johnson on April 24, 25 and May 1 across the island's 14 parishes, shows that 58 per cent of Jamaicans, or close to six in every 10, believe crime and violence is the most pressing problem the country now faces.

Unemployment was a distant second, with 24 per cent of respondents considering it the biggest problem. Eleven per cent of respondents put their finger on the financial crisis and five per cent apiece said their major concern was corruption in Government and "poor people need help".

The 58 per cent polled for crime and violence reflects an eight percentage-point increase from the time of the last poll in August 2009.

However, it is 16 points lower than the 74 per cent recorded in June 2008.

These findings do not surprise Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, the organisation which monitors the critical tourism sector.

"Crime certainly has been happening in our lives for the better part of the last three to three and a half decades and it has stymied just about everything in terms of our social capital and our economic growth," he told The Gleaner.

"I think that out of every dollar we have spent marketing this country, much of that investment was to cover the negativity coming out of the country," he added.

Major offensive against gangs

Since the Dudus dilemma most recent polls, the security forces have used a massive operation to arrest accused drug kingpin-turned-fugitive Christopher 'Dudus' Coke to launch a major offensive against gangs. This has resulted in the seizure of at least 86 firearms and more than 15,000 rounds of ammunition.

Last year, a record 1,680 people were murdered in Jamaica. Police statistics show that although there has been a decline in homicides for the first two weeks of June, 767 persons were murdered between January 1 and June 13 - 65 above last year's toll.

The poll also showed that the 24 per cent of respondents who identified unemployment as the number-one concern slipped 10 percentage points from last August.

Former chief executive officer of the Jamaica Employers' Federation, Jacqueline Coke-Lloyd, said this may be an indication that Jamaicans are beginning to realise that the escalating crime problem has to be tackled first.

"Crime breeds insecurity and gives a lack of confidence, so if you don't solve a fundamental problem (crime), then many people will think they don't have to think about other problems," said Coke-Lloyd, who is also managing director of Make Your Mark Consultants.

She added that crime affects the way Jamaicans think and behave and whether investors come to the island or keep their businesses here.

The poll has a sample size of 1,008, with a plus or minus three per cent margin of error.