Jamaica’s decades-long “love affair” with criminals is not accidental — it grew out of a political system that consciously weaponized lawlessness for electoral gain. As early as the 1970s and 1980s, gangs — commonly referred to as “posses” — became deeply embedded in political culture. These criminal networks, far from being peripheral, became political enforcers.
The notorious Shower Posse — Spanglers, Black Roses and others — emerged not simply as street gangs but as instruments of political violence and control, shifting eventually into heroin, cocaine, and arms trafficking as they gained power.
In this sense, crime was subsidized by politics. The “posse-politics” model rendered criminality not only tolerated but politically functional: threats, “muscle,” voter intimidation — or, when convenient, protection — all built a grotesque symbiosis between underworld and political elites.
Over time, ordinary citizens, especially in impoverished neighbourhoods, came to view gang “dons” not only as dangerous criminals, but as de facto power brokers — protectors, providers, patrons. For many Jamaicans, these figures represented community power, retribution, and a twisted notion of social justice. The result: crime ceased to be an aberration; it became woven into the country’s political and social fabric. Victims’ rights and public safety repeatedly took a back seat as criminals became quasi-legitimate community actors.
A Legal System That Long Deferred to Criminal Rights — And Political Strategy
This deference wasn’t only cultural — it was systemic. Courts, bail laws, weak policing, and political interference often treated gang leaders and criminals not as pariahs but as manageable, sometimes even protected, figures. Politicians from both main parties — the JLP and People’s National Party (PNP) — enjoy documented links to criminal networks. Even if some of the worst stories were exaggerated or politicized, the structural association between political patronage and gang protection is undeniable. This pattern has allowed gang culture to survive, mutate, and even thrive. It has fostered a culture of impunity — where the lives of ordinary victims and communities are weighted less than the political utility of “dons.”The willingness of large swathes of the Jamaican public to tolerate — or even glorify — such figures is not merely moral failure. It is the inevitable by-product of decades in which criminality was normalized, politicized, and in some cases rewarded.
A New Era: Attempted Break with Criminality under Holness & JLP
That’s why the recent wave of reforms and crime reductions under Holness’s JLP government matters — it isn’t just statistics, it is an attempt at systemic repair.
📉 Real, measurable decline in violent crime
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According to the official figures from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Jamaica recorded a 43.3% reduction in murders between January 1 and May 28, 2025 — dropping from 485 murders in the same 2024 period to 275. opm.gov.jm
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Other major crimes followed similar declines: by 2024, murders had fallen by 19% compared to 2023, one of the biggest year-on-year drops in history. opm.gov.jm+1
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In the first quarter of 2025, the country saw the lowest quarterly murder total in 25 years, and the lowest monthly count in 25 years (-44 murders in April, for example). opm.gov.jm+1
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Shootings, rapes, and robberies have also plummeted under sustained police operations, intelligence-led operations, gang crackdowns, and mounting firearms seizures.
In short, the past two years mark the most significant sustained decline in major crimes that Jamaica has seen in decades — not a one-off drop, but an ongoing downward spiral.
🔧 Institutional and legislative reforms
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Under Holness, the government has invested massively: over $90 billion (Jamaican dollars) in national security over nine years, funding modernization of the police, new stations, better training, recruitment, and technology.
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The police force is reportedly “almost at full established strength,” with thousands of additional officers trained since 2018. opm.gov.jm+1
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The reform strategy is statewide — intelligence-led policing, targeted gang disruption, firearms seizures, breaking down organized crime networks, and shifting policing philosophy. The government has also amended bail laws, strengthened gun and anti-gang laws, created new enforcement bodies (like the independent Major Organised Crime and Anti‑Corruption Agency, MOCA), and generally toughened the legal framework against violent crime.
These are not superficial changes. They represent a concerted, long-term attempt to reassert the rule of law — to reclaim the State’s monopoly on legitimate violence, and reduce the shadow power of gangs.
The Stakes of Regression: Why Expungement and “Soft-on-Crime” Policies Are Dangerous
Given this progress, the actions and proposals by parts of the PNP to water down legislation, or undo criminal-justice gains, are deeply irresponsible. People’s National Party Member of Parliament Zuleika Jess tabling Amendment for full expungement of felons with non-custodial sentences or prison terms less than (5) five years is just the laters itertion of the PNP’s concerted effort to stand in the way of meaningful and sustainable crime reduction in Jamaica.
This follows a long string of PNP efforts to weaken legislation that would aid the nation’s fight against local and trans-national criminals. To add insult to injury the PNP ran a twice convicted Drug mule turned Lawyer, Isat Buchanan to represent a seat in East Portland, he won, making it the first time in our nation’s history that a convicted felon sits in our parlaiment as a lawmaker.
While there is a legitimate debate in many societies about rehabilitation and reintegration of minor offenders — and while the concept of second chances is not immoral per se — in Jamaica’s context, this feels tone-deaf at best and dangerously naïve at worst. Here’s why:
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Public safety vs. political optics: With gangs historically intertwined with political patronage, giving an easy “clean slate” to criminals plays directly into the old politics of impunity.
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Risk to victims & communities: Expunging records means erasing institutional memory. Employers, community members, neighbors, or families may unwittingly open their doors to people with illicit pasts — undermining trust and security.
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International consequences: Other nations (especially those with strict visa or residency screening) are unlikely to welcome individuals from jurisdictions perceived as soft on crime — especially if records are expunged. The reputational impact on Jamaica as a whole could be severe (on migration, tourism, foreign investment).
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Undermining reforms: After years of boots-on-ground policing, seizures, arrests, and dismantling gangs, undoing criminal records undermines decades of reform and sends a message that the State is not serious about holding criminals to account.
In short: any push to “clean the slate” must be measured, deliberate, and context-sensitive. Blanket expungements — especially in a country still recovering from decades of gang dominance — risk compromising the fragile gains in public safety.
Conclusion: The Choice Before Jamaica
Jamaica stands at a fork in the road. One path leads back to the old, tragic cycle: criminal-political symbiosis, impunity, violence normalized, victims invisible, communities terrorized. On this path, any gesture to clean up criminal records — or weaken laws — is not a noble act of mercy, but a step back into darkness.
The other path — the one the Holness government seems to be walking — is hard, fraught, and requires sustained political will, funding, and public support. It demands that Jamaicans reject the glamour of “dons,” that they forsake old loyalties to gang-affiliated politicians, and commit instead to the rule of law, public safety, and justice.
The 2025 data give reason for guarded hope: murders and major crimes are down over 42%, But statistics are fragile things. The moment political expediency replaces principle — for example, via expungement bills — we risk unraveling decades of progress.
If Jamaica is serious about reclaiming its prosperity, dignity, and the safety of its people, it must resist any attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of criminals without accountability. It must reclaim the narrative that criminals are not community heroes — they are predators.
Anything less is not reform. It is a relapse.
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Mike Beckles
Former Criminal Detective, Writer, Businessman, Black Achiever Honoree