Politicking with Crimes in Jamaica: Specially Established Paramilitary Units in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Zones of Special Operations, and States of Emergency

Abstract

Introduction: Historically, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) emerged as a result of the Morant Bay rebellion of 1865. Despite its over 100 years of existence in Jamaica, the JCF has continued by being enlarged as a paramilitary organization in crime fighting.

Objectives: An evaluation of the effectiveness or otherwise of established paramilitary units in the JCF along with states of emergencies that have been implemented in Jamaica using data from 1970-2020.

Methods and materials: Secondary time series data (1970-2020) were collected from the Statistical department of the JCF to be compared with corresponding paramilitary units in the Force. The data were statistically examined after being entered in the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows, Version 25.0.

Findings: For the studied period (1970-2020), the average murder rate per 100,000 during the PNP’s governance of Jamaica was 31.0±14.0 (95%CI: 25.7-36.2) compared to 35.6±19.3 (95%CI: 26.3-44.9) for when the JLP is in governance of the nation, with there being no statistical difference between the numbers (t-test₄₇ = -0.964, P = 0.340). The introduction of the State of Public Emergency (SOE) has reduced the homicide pandemic in the nation which saw a 32% reduction in intentional homicides compared to the implementation of ZOSO.

Conclusion: Paramilitary initiatives and states of emergency have some curtailing role to play on major crime reduction; but they cannot be used solely as a long-term ‘crime-fighting’ initiative.