Violent Jamaica to advise T&T on crime
JAMAICA, with which Trinidad and Tobago is partnering in the fight against crime, had 1,464 murders last year.
The fellow CARICOM nation is listed – like T&T – as one of the most violent countries in the world and is the subject of severe travel advisories from developed countries.
“Crime levels are high,” the United Kingdom said in its most recent alert to its citizens, and “gang violence and shootings are common.”
Jamaica has a crime index of 68.29, with T&T at 70.57.
Venezuela, with a crime index of 83.16, is considered the most violent non-war country in the world.
Jamaica, with a population of 2.9 million, has seen as many as 1,600 killings during recent years.
The least number of homicides over each of the past 15 years is 1,000.
The island is confirmed by the United Nations as having one of the highest murder rates in the world, at an average of 58 for every 100,000 people.
Crime is particularly bad in Kingston, Montego Bay and Spanish Town, and surrounding districts.
The authorities have taken several measures to reduce the crime spree, including retaining the death penalty, imposing periodic states of emergency, and setting up new police units.
Tourism accounts for 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but robberies of visitors are common.
The UK authorities have told citizens to be extremely cautious in visiting Jamaica.
“There have been some violent incidents, including armed robbery, murder, and rape,” the advisory stated.
“There is also a risk of sexual assault against tourists.
“You should maintain a high level of personal safety awareness, including at popular events.”
In May, the United States told its citizens: “Violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common.
“Sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts.
“Local police lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents.”
As with T&T, developed countries cautioned their nationals not to visit certain places and to be careful in travelling at night.
The American travel advisory stated: “The homicide rate reported by the Government of Jamaica for several years has been among the highest in the Western Hemisphere.”
The US has banned its officials from visiting some places, using public buses, and driving outside of certain prescribed areas of Kingston at night.
During a recent visit to T&T, Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness signed an agreement to collaborate on crime, including with respect to information-sharing and transnational violence.
Holness said both countries are making “significant progress.”
He agreed with Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s depiction of crime as a public health issue.
He said countries like Jamaica and T&T must realise “why violence is used so often or is the choice of action to resolve conflict in the society.”
It is not known how the agreement between both countries would impact the crime rate in two of the most violent societies on earth.
In Jamaica, the scourge is so dreadful that Holness has pleaded that “the treatment of violence is not contested politically.”
He called for consensus with the political opposition.
The Jamaican PM has faced stiff criticism from the opposition and media.
The Jamaica Observer newspaper said that “Jamaica is on its own in this never-ending fight against gunmen, who are having a field day.”
In T&T, the Rowley administration came into power seven years ago on a firm promise to reduce the crime rate, protesting that the country had become one of the most homicidal in the world.
Since then, the crime rate has continuously worsened, with previously-safe communities witnessing regular acts of lawlessness.
Both T&T and Jamaica endure mass murders, especially during weekends.
One security official familiar with both societies said: “Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are facing uphill battles, and they are not scoring much success.
“Both societies are extremely unsafe.
“The agreement may just be giving each other a shoulder on which to cry.
“A cynic may say that ‘satan is correcting sin’ in Jamaica offering to resolve Trinidad and Tobago’s crime problem.”
