If you know me, you know I talk about crime regardless of who occupies Jamaica House. My disdain for criminality may be traced to when I became a police officer. Still, today, I have scant regard for criminals or even those who would offer support for them.
I have observed over the decade and a half that I have engaged in writing on crime; readers’ responses have been based on what I say about the two political parties that run our country.
It indicates that even on this most important and existential subject, people’s responses are based on their political affiliations and beliefs.….…. Sadly, this includes past and present members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Surely, we all have our political leanings; there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing so. Our inability to deal with important issues from objective, non-political lenses is problematic. My experiences have been that even when we claim to be objective, our arguments are political instead of focused on the topic under discussion.
Now, let’s talk about crime in Jamaica.
My position on the subject is well known: I hate criminals; I spent a decade fighting them, I was shot doing it, and if it were up to me, they would all be in jail. Period.
Both political parties have largely contributed to crime through omission and commission: complicity, acquiescence, incompetence, and political expediency.
Political partisans from both camps will have you believe that their side is more serious about crime reduction in our country, but in essence, when it comes to producing tangible evidence to back up their claims, they fall short. As I have said, even some police officers believe their fortunes are tied to their party’s fortunes at the polls.
The long and short of the matter is that neither political party has been resolute in laying down the law on criminality. Consequently, our country developed a pop culture that is laissez-faire, or should I say on this issue, it’s almost hands-off by both political parties.
Instead of making it clear that crime will not be tolerated in our country, we have created a cottage industry around how to benefit from it since it is a way of life. This includes bands, funeral parlors, all the way to vending.
It is logical to argue that neither political party has taken the necessary steps to alleviate this burgeoning crisis.
I have laid out a series of steps that begin with legislation and continue with an efficient, well-trained police force and a court system bound by law to send criminals to prison. All of that must be encapsulated in a national mindset that is not centered on the rights of criminals but on the rights of crime victims and their families.
Having said the foregone, I have also laid out why the government [must] disassociate itself from crime producers and pass legislation that makes it clear Jamaica is no haven for criminals. Our small economy is easily disturbed by outside forces that would do us harm. We must do our best to ensure we have clean hands on this issue. I have spoken to the help the so-called human rights groups in our country have gotten from outside donors while our crime-fighting efforts have come under scrutiny, ridicule, and punitive backlash… all from outside Jamaica.
Guns continue to flood the Island, most of which are reported to come from the United States, despite its enormous and numerous law enforcement budgets and resources.
It is inconceivable to me that the most powerful nation in the world cannot stop the flow of guns into a small country with minimal resources.
It is easy for a powerful nation to destroy a small nation’s economy using slander and lies if that nation seems to be doing things right. It has happened before it can happen again.
Every time that Jamaica, a majority Black nation, sets itself on a course to becoming self-sufficient and economically viable, outside forces align against our country, and the political opposition all of a sudden gains traction, effectively turning back the gains recorded.
A few weeks ago, the influential Financial Times wrote glowingly about the Jamaican economy, calling it ‘arguably one of the most remarkable and radical but underappreciated turnaround stories in economic history.”The Times Journalist Arnie Weissmann touted Jamaica’s economic turnaround as ‘the envy of developing countries’.
Not surprisingly to any sane, rational person, the United States State Department quickly issued additional travel advisories to Americans about traveling to Jamaica.
The State Department’s advisory warned that violent crimes are ‘common’ and sexual assaults occur ‘frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts.’.….. Wait, what? I was in Jamaica with my family in January of 2024. I would certainly not expose my family to this kind of danger. So, the State Department must be talking about Jamaica Queens.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Sandals International Chairman Adam Stewart have both pushed back against the slanderous allegations against Jamaica.…. Social media is rife with American tourists mocking the State Department’s advisory. Many have done so while booking their flights to Jamaica.
It is counter-productive at this point to talk about the hypocrisy of the American State Department’s advisory, not to mention the timing of it. Coincedencital or strategic, you are the judge.
As I mentioned previously, Jamaica is a predominantly black country. The Island has maintained close ties to the United States for decades after emerging from British Colonial rule…
Despite this so-called friendship, the Island has precious little to show for that bilateral relationship. There are a few handouts here and there, but hardly anything tangible to point to. Before the Chinese advent onto the island, the country’s infrastructure was decrepit, relegated to the winding roads that have existed since the colonial era, and bridges and other major infrastructure were hardly any more developed than the roads.
Nevertheless, with new Chinese-sponsored highways, the key to the nation’s development, the American Ambassador under Donald Trump had the temerity and the gall to caution Jamaica about accepting the Chinese largest as if Jamaica was answerable to the American government.
The reality is that with American guns flooding the Island unabated and the security forces constrained from going after the murderers out of fear of the American, Canadian, and British-funded Human Rights agencies and criminals being deported in large numbers, the strategy is for the Island to fail.
If Jamaica cannot keep its crime rate down, investment potential becomes nil. Tourists are scared away by the American State Department. The Jamaican economy, heavily dependent on tourism, returns to the days of( ‘anything a anything’).
Major lending institutions, such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Paris Club, depend on poor nations to borrow from them.
Now, do you see why it is important to trash Jamaica?
According to some reports, the Prime Minister is perplexed at the timing of the American advisory. This writer is not, and truthfully, I know the PM is fully conversant with what’s happening.
Hey, in the meantime, real Jamaicans must look at the sources funding the large opposition motorcades and meetings. We should never allow our country to slide back into the doldrums of the 90s.
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Mike Beckles is a former Police Detective, businessman, freelance writer, black achiever honoree, and creator of the blog mikebeckles.com.