BY: DELLIA RISMAY
At the Jamaica National Group’s Outlook for the Future forum, Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson addressed members of the Jamaican diaspora as well as those with ties to the country about its crime level, and what is being done to lower it. Held at the Omni King Edward Hotel, the forum also featured remarks from Hon. Oliver Clarke, chairman of The Jamaica National Group Limited, Mr. Lloyd Wilks, Consul General for Jamaica, and Mr. Earl Jarrett, CEO of The Jamaica National Group.
Violence has remained at the forefront of the minds of Jamaicans living on the island, those in the diaspora, investors, potential investors, tourists, and others. Returning residents were put on high alert after a Canadian couple was murdered in Jamaica this past January. Melbourne Flake, 81, and Etta Flake, 70, were found dead in their Retreat, St. Thomas vacation home. There were signs of a brutal assault.
Shortly after the incident, the Government of Canada advised travelers to exercise a high degree of caution due to increases in violent crime. The Jamaican government announced a state of emergency in St. James Parish, and in March, the government extended it to St. Catherine Parish in Greater Kingston. Police and military forces were deployed to the affected areas to restore safety.
Currently, the Government of Canada’s official travel website is still urging Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution in Jamaica, citing “identifiable safety and security concerns or the safety and security situation could change with little notice”. Jamaica is among a number of Caribbean nations that the Government of Canada suggests travelers exercise a high degree of caution in due to high crime rates.
The Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) has hosted the Outlook for the Future series since 2003, in the hopes of uniting Jamaicans in the diaspora and those with ties to the island. The forums reach out to those in the UK, the US, and Canada, and provide a setting in which pertinent issues can be discussed. This year’s theme is Arresting Crime and Violence: A National Priority for Jamaica.
During the forum held in Toronto, Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson discussed what the Jamaica Constabulary Force has been doing to bring down the country’s crime rate. Some of the strategies outlined included focusing on investing in stronger border security (in an attempt to stop guns from entering the country), improvements to the correctional system, enhanced security measures including zones of special operations in Mount Salem in Montego Bay and Denham Town in Kingston, anti-gang legislation, plans to continue the state of emergency in St. James, and amendments to the Firearms Act. “We have to get our hands around this problem,” Major General Anderson told the crowd.
Major General Anderson also stressed the importance of social intervention when it comes to preventing criminals from re-offending. “Our correctional system needs work, and work is being done, but the most important work is that when [a criminal] comes into that system, they come out the other end, and don’t come back,” he said during his address. According to Major General Anderson, incarcerated individuals spend an average of three years in prison. “That means that that three years in [the system] is the same time you could use to get a degree. So, you’ll get a degree one way or another: you’re either going to get better at being a criminal, or you’re going to get options to not be a criminal. In that three years, we need to have mechanisms that cause you not to come back.”
After his address, Major General Anderson held a question-answer period. Individuals voiced concerns such as the ability of the Jamaica Constabulary Force to handle more minor crimes when violence is their primary focus. Major General Anderson assured the audience that the police force have strategies in place to ensure the safety of citizens.
Toronto Caribbean Newspaper asked Major General Anderson what those in the Jamaican diaspora can do to help with the crime situation on the island. “Any way you contribute, whether it’s something to improve someone’s conditions back home, some investment to young people, anything like that is really good and helpful to us. Obviously, if you have specific information about criminal type activity, then we want to hear that as the police force,” he said.
