Bad boys tremble

• New strategies credited with decrease in major crimes

Byron Buckley, Associate Editor

BACKED BY emergency powers in the immediate aftermath of the security forces' incursion into west Kingston, the Jamaica Constabulary Force introduced a new crime-fighting tool - announcing the names of 'persons of interest' who should present themselves to the nearest police station.

These announcements caused a stir, arousing much public interest about some of the names appearing on the police list.

Lawyers quickly got into the act, declaring that their clients were innocent of any wrongdoing and were cooperating with the police.

A year after the west Kingston operation, the police seem to be reaping lingering rewards from that crime-fighting innovation.

"The strategy by the police to name persons of interest is having an effect on crime: nobody wants to be a person of interest," says August Town community activist Kenneth Wilson. "I have never seen anything like this; it's like a revolution."

The police and Government have been trumpeting a marked reduction in violent crimes with the latest figures showing murders 40 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year.

Peace Management Initiative (PMI) Programme Manager Damian Hutchinson says the "stern work of the security forces in going after noted leaders of gangs and their assets" has contributed to the drop in violent crimes.

"As a result of this assault, which began after last year's insurgency in Tivoli Gardens, many of the perpetrators of violence at the community level have gone quiet," reports Hutchinson.

Criminologist Bernard Headley is more cautious.

"Surely, law enforcement deserves a good portion of the credit, but not by any means most and certainly not all," reasons Headley, a professor based at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona.

Headley further argues that where the police's actions are reducing crime, "they are clearly going about their work more intelligently and, among other things, learning how to cooperate and work with communities."

Wilson attests to the good community relations pursued by the August Town police.

"The relationship with the police is getting better. The August Town police are making a tremendous effort to be civil - they always had good relations with the community," notes Wilson who heads the August Town Sports and Community Development Foundation.

Wilson, who helped broker peace among warring gangs in August Town several years ago, says the arrest of then west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke had a salutary effect on the attitude of gangsters.

"Since the west Kingston incursion, what we are seeing is an immediate transformation. Nobody wants to be a don anymore; people are conforming with the law," Wilson tells The Gleaner.

"They say if Dudus was so powerful and was brought down, then they stand no chance."

Last May, Coke escaped attempts by the security forces to execute an arrest warrant for him to answer gun and drug charges in the United States.

After evading a police dragnet for several weeks, Coke was caught on June 22.

He waived his right to an extradition hearing and was flown off the island by US marshals three days later.

"I believe that the application and intelligent use of force was necessary to remove from his lair and his stranglehold of western Kingston, strongman Christopher Coke,'' asserts Headley.

Although not necessarily agreeing with what he describes as the "scorched earth" tactics employed by the military to extricate Coke, the criminologist said "the hope of redeeming urban crime garrisons lies in crafting well-conceived, well-thought-through weed and seed (or hold and build) projects and objectives".

Indeed, Headley and PMI's Hutchinson believe the lull in violent crime is more the fruit of sustained social programmes than hard-policing strategies.

Notes Hutchinson: "The PMI, the Citizens Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) and other organisations working on the ground had over the 18 months leading up to the state of emergency managed to bring a certain calm to the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA).

"Indeed, homicides had dropped significantly in most police divisions in the KMA as a result of the sustained peace-building work of these organisations on the ground."

Headley suggests that sustaining the declining trend in crime requires intelligent policing that includes a "strong element of community support that is always infused with strong notions of fairness, justice and respect for the rights of citizens".

Wilson agrees. "Social programmes are always effective (in fighting crime)," he says while pointing to the University Township Programme, for which he is liaison officer.

Hutchinson believes the latest assault by the police on what they call gangs can only be sustained if resources are made available to organisations like the PMI, CSJP, Sistren, Dispute Resolution Foundation and S-Corner Clinic to facilitate the "renewal of these communities in an organised and holistic way".