Mediating Violence in Jamaica Through a Gang Truce

Abstract

The article examines a gang-related peace initiative instituted in Greater August Town, Jamaica. Our objective was to understand the negotiation processes and determine whether the gang truce resulted in the desired outcome: a reduction in homicide. Bivariate analyses showed a significant decline in homicides immediately following the truce. Upon closer examination, however, comparing change in the target area to the balance areas in Jamaica and accounting for temporal trends, we found that the decline in homicide was part of a larger nationwide decline in violence and that the gang truce was not responsible for the decline. The only significant effect was the possibility that homicides were displaced outside the target area for a brief period of time.

Legal socialization, perceptions of the police, and delinquency in three Caribbean nations

“…Prior research suggests that while islandness can provide substantial protection to islanders, for example, in the form of independence, loyalty, and strong community ties and cohesion (Conkling, 2007), it can also manifest into normative values that generate crime (Scott & Staines, 2021). Support for such a culture in the Caribbean was illustrated by Katz et al (2022) who reported that English-speaking Caribbean youths across nine nations reported fairly typical rates of property crime, but reported exceptionally high rates of violence compared to many other nations. It is unclear, however, whether islandness causes island-specific variation in the prevalence and nature of delinquency, and whether legal socialization plays the same role in youth delinquency in the context of Caribbean SIDS.…”