INDUCEMENT INTO TOP-TIER GANGS IN URBAN JAMAICA: A QUALITATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

Jamaica remains among the top ten countries in the world in terms of crime and violence. The Shower Posse/Presidential Click from West Kingston was proclaimed the mother of gangs in the Americas throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Locally, serious top tier gang activities escalated through the 2000’s to present which maintained its status as Jamaica’s most organized criminal organization up to May 2010. The objective of this study is to evaluate gang inclusion in two of the four top tier gangs in Jamaica. The study used a qualitative approach and a series of in-depth interviews after narrowing the scope of gangs and gang study to the Jamaican geographic space; more specifically the St. Catherine North Police Division. This area houses the Clans and the One Order Gangs, two of the island’s four top tier, well-organized criminal entities and presented a good basis for understanding the phenomenological significance of gangs and their recruitment activities within the Jamaican setting.  The data was analysed using themes and narrations, categorizing three of the most prominent motives across a plethora of gang affected communities internationally and argued the linkage between those areas and the Jamaican context. The findings reveal that young males, ages 15-25, are more susceptible to core gang membership with half of the respondents indicating that financial reasons and a sense of belonging were the reasons for gang induction. The research concludes that both finance and the need to belong are necessary parts of the current Clans and One Order structures and seem to be so entrenched in the sub-culture that no formal system is necessary to secure the continuation of these practices.