The Changing Social Organization of Crime and Criminals in Jamaica

Harriott, Anthony

doi:10.1080/00086495.1996.11671846

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Similar to crime patterns in other developing countries in the Caribbean during the 1970s, property crime rates were higher in Jamaica than were violent crime rates (Bowling 2010;Harriott 1996). However, by the late 1970s to early 1980s, there was a sharp shift in the country's homicide rate.…”

Section: The Homicide -Politics Nexus In Jamaicamentioning

confidence: 61%

Homicide Through A Different Lens

Morris¹,

Graycar²

2011

British Journal of Criminology

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Section: The Homicide -Politics Nexus In Jamaicamentioning

confidence: 61%

Homicide Through A Different Lens

Morris¹,

Graycar²

2011

British Journal of Criminology

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“…The salience of this feature can be expressed in terms of the ratio of violent to property crimes. Since 1977, and contrary to the typical Caribbean pattern, the number of violent crimes in Jamaica has been greater than the number of property crimes (Harriott 1996). By 1999, the ratio was approximately 2:1, and some 40 per cent of all crimes were violent (Robotham 2003, 200).…”

Section: A Closer Look At Crime and Violence In Jamaicamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is consistent with JCF data showing that violent crimes are disproportionately concentrated in communities that experience high levels of social exclusion, in communities often labelled as inner-city or informal settlements, and among young men between the ages of 16 and 30. So social exclusion also matters (Levy 1996;Moser and Holland 1997;Harriott 1996). Indeed, there has been much country-level analysis but too little community-level work aimed at advancing the level of understanding of social processes associated with the generation of violence.…”

Section: The Crime Problem Explainedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of them are transnational, engaged in drug dealing in several countries, and able to corruptly exploit the resources of the Jamaican government. The rise of organized crime in the middle to late 1980s therefore signalled a new stage in the development of criminal activity (Harriott 1996). As a result, the decade from 1989 to 1998 saw a dramatic increase in offences classified as either drug-or gangrelated, and an increase in gun-related crimes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crime and Violence in Jamaica: IDB Series on Crime and Violence in the Caribbean

Harriot¹,

Jones²

2016

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work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC-IGO BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/ legalcode) and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed.Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license.Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.http://www.iadb.org 2016Heather Sutton: heathers@iadb.org i This publication was a joint collaboration between the Caribbean Economics Team (CCB/ CCB) and the Citizen Security Cluster of Institutional Capacity of the State (IFD/ICS). A special thanks to Laura Jaitman and Rogelio Granguillhome Ochoa who reviewed and provided input for this report. Series Editor: Heather Sutton ii AbstractThis report is part of an IDB technical note series on crime and violence in the Caribbean. The overall aim is to establish a baseline of the crime prevention arena against which progress can be assessed. The report compiles the available data from multiple sources in order to provide a diagnosis of the size, characteristics, and changing nature of the crime problem in Jamaica over the last 10 years. In addition, the report provides a survey of the various crime prevention and suppression policies, programmes, and projects adopted by government, private organizations, and non-governmental organizations in recent years. In performing the above-mentioned tasks, the report offers an assessment of the data collection, analysis, and crime response capabilities in Jamaica, and makes suggestions regarding the most effective way forward.Key words: violence, crime, Jamaica, prevention JEL Codes: I39, Y80, J12, O54iii ..................................................................................... List of Acronyms EXECUTIVE SUMMARYCrime is now the main public safety issue for Jamaicans and a significant threat to the country's human and economic development. Data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), public health data, and survey information show high levels of criminality and corruption on the island. Jamaica has homicide rates that are notably higher than both the regional and global averages, although since 2010 there has been a significant decline in violent crimes and indeed serious crimes in general.In 2010, there was a 7.5 per cent decline in major crimes over 2009 (from 437 to 409 per 100,000 inhabitants) and a 15 per cent decline in murder (from 62 to 5...

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“…This may begin to offer an explanation with regard to the contributing factors toward a skewed crime level, in many of Jamaica"s geographically polarized communities, with cramped living conditions. A further examination of the Jamaican context, by Harriott (1996) reports that violent crimes have changed over the last 2 decades. He suggests that the changes are due in part, to the adaptation of the populace to a protracted economic crisis, and the consequent development of a strong underground economic network in which transactions are regulated by violence and the threats thereof.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using social media to warn potential victims, and encourage youths to denounce crime and violence in Jamaica

Wright-Myrie¹,

Charley²,

Hurst³

et al. 2016

Int. J. Sociol. Anthropol.

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The youth cohort is the group most likely to be involved in criminal activities, being classified as either perpetrator or victim. This intervention explored the use of social media as a mechanism for sensitizing the youth cohort to the negative impact of crime, the value of shunning and denouncing it and the importance of supporting law enforcement efforts. A programmed intervention strategy was utilized to sensitize the youth cohort of the role in crime and foster a stronger relationship between the youth and the justice system. The results of the intervention suggested that youths generally repudiate crime, express mistrust for agents of the state and thought that crime fighting resources were limited. The impact of the cost of crime on the productive capacity of developing countries, such as Jamaica, has a far reaching and deleterious impact on the process of achieving sustainable development. Health, education and justice are pivotal factors influencing the perpetration of crime and violence or the lack thereof. Though novel in this setting, social media may be influential in bridging the gap between crime fighters and youth, and possibly facilitate opportunities for the communication of youthful perspectives on crime. This may serve to communicate the fresh ideas of the youth to the relevant authorities and lead to renewed and effective interventions using youth-led and youth centered reduction and prevention strategies.

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The Changing Social Organization of Crime and Criminals in Jamaica

Cited by 18 publications

References 2 publications

Homicide Through A Different Lens

Homicide Through A Different Lens

Crime and Violence in Jamaica: IDB Series on Crime and Violence in the Caribbean

Using social media to warn potential victims, and encourage youths to denounce crime and violence in Jamaica

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