SoEs FAILED IN JAMAICA, HAITI

STATES of Emergency have failed to curb dreadful crime rates in Jamaica and Haiti.

Both countries introduced and then extended SoEs to limit the crisis of murders and other violent crimes.

But the measures did not bring major and sustained positive results.

In Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness imposed a SoE in the high-crime communities of Westmoreland, St. James, Hanover, Clarendon, St. Catherine, and parts of Kingston, St. Anns and St. Andrew.

Holness insisted that the measures were “necessary” and “appropriate.”

Against the objections of the parliamentary opposition and human rights groups, Holness extended the emergency powers “to protect the lives of innocent citizens.”

Like Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, Holness called crime “a public health issue.”

But the SoE did not make an effective dent to gang-related crime in a country in which the annual murder toll is around 1,500.

In one week a few months ago, there were 44 killings.

There were seizures of weapons and prosecutions of some suspects, but the crime spree continued.

As in Trinidad and Tobago, a gun amnesty was offered.

International watchdog groups said Jamaica has a track record of abusing emergency powers.

While tourism is a mainstay of the Jamaican economy, the United States has advised citizens to “reconsider travel to Jamaica due to crime.”

Kingston, Spanish Town, Montego Bay and other high population areas are still enduring high crime rates.

In Haiti, the authorities recently expanded its SoE and curfew throughout the crime-riddled land but that has not deterred gangsters from carrying out cold-blooded murders.

The country remains in a state of anarchy, with the capital city Port-au-Prince being hit with attacks on police stations, public roads, and government offices.

There were more than 5,000 murders last year in the land of 11.7 million people.

Violence has led to widespread food shortages affecting about five million people and displacement of some 580,000 Haitians.

In the community of Quest, in the heart of Port-au-Prince, there were prison breaks.

Many consider Haiti to be ungovernable, with international forces being unable to curb the chaos.

An official of the United Nations recently said: “Haiti is at dire crossroads with extreme levels of gang violence continuing to degrade State authority with no improvement in sight.”

Reports are that the security situation is “extremely fragile, with renewed peaks of extreme violence.”

One report stated that in Port-au-Prince, gangsters are “spreading terror and fear, overwhelming the national security apparatus.”

Even with the State of Emergency, robberies, car-jackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom are still common.

The United States and other developed countries have strict travel advisories: Do not travel.

An international statistical organisation stated that “the Caribbean stands out as one of the most violent regions in the Americas.”

There is a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cost than more other regional countries.

While SoEs have traditionally had a minimal and short-term impact on crime, they have led to an abuse of power and lack of coordination among relevant agencies.

Jamaica and Haiti have poor report cards on the use of SoEs to improve the runaway crime emergency.