Jamaica - Corruption
Transparency International (TI) has in recent years ranked Jamaica among the more corrupt of the more than 100 countries examined in the organization’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). In the 2009 survey of 180 countries, Jamaica slid to joint 99th place (CPI 2009).
The evolution of gangs resulted in organized networks which perpetuate increased levels of organized criminal activities. The structure has shifted in part based on enlargement of sources of sustenance. Activities in more recent times embrace the illicit drug trade and money laundering and by extension, turf war, extortion, and reprisal killings. As the state fails to make good on its economic and social responsibilities, citizens in garrison communities have largely shifted their loyalty to area ‘dons’ to fill their needs. ‘Dons’ oftentimes provide financial support, employment and security.
The high concentration of the incidents of violent crime in the Kingston ghetto communities is hardly a chance occurrence. Specifically, crime is rampant in areas where poverty is pervasive and offenders and victims are typically undereducated and unskilled young males. Policing in these inner city or ghetto communities is also made difficult due to a culture of silence, gang members’ resistance and the poor state of infrastructure that inhibits access in some areas.
There was widespread and bitter resentment against the antimarijuana drive. Traffickers in Jamaica, known as "Robin Hoods," had cultivated selected local loyalties by supplying funds for school construction and road improvements. Cultivated clandestinely in mountainous areas, ganja is rolled into huge flute-shaped cigars called spliffs and smoked. In other popular uses, ganja leaves are baked into small cakes, brewed for tea, soaked in rum, drunk with roots as an aphrodisiac, used as a poultice to reduce pain and swelling, or used popularly as a cold remedy.
Drug law amendments that partially decriminalized small amounts of ganja and paved the way for a lawful medical marijuana sector went into effect 15 April 2015 in Jamaica, where the drug had long been culturally entrenched. The act makes possession of up to 2 ounces (56 grams) of marijuana a petty offense that could result in a roughly $5 ticket but not in an arrest or a criminal record. Cultivation of five or fewer plants by any household was allowed. And Rastafari adults were now permitted to use marijuana for sacramental purposes.
Jamaica remains the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States and local Caribbean islands. Although cocaine and synthetic drugs are not produced locally, Jamaica is a transit point for drugs trafficked from South America to North America and other international markets. In 2016, drug production and trafficking were enabled and accompanied by organized crime, domestic and international gang activity, and police and government corruption. Illicit drugs are also a means of exchange for illegally-trafficked firearms entering the country, exacerbating Jamaica’s security situation.
Jamaica is a transit point for cocaine trafficked from South America, accounting for an estimated 1% of the total documented drug flow to the US. The volume of cocaine traffic remains lower than its sub-regional neighbors, and during 2009 Jamaica did not experience a notable increase over the previous year.
As a matter of policy, the Jamaican government does not encourage or facilitate illegal activity associated with drug trafficking or the laundering of proceeds from illicit drug transactions. Jamaican law penalizes official corruption; however, corruption remains entrenched, widespread, and compounded by a judicial system that has a poor record of successfully prosecuting corruption cases against high-level law enforcement and government officials.
The prime minister, in his April 20, 2010 budget debate presentation to parliament mentioned that 64 members of the police force “were arrested and charged last year [2009] for varying offences” and that “the drive to rid the Force of corruption” has remained “intense”.
In May 2010, the PNP accused the JLP Government of lobbying against the extradition of a notorious drug dealer/gang leader, Christopher "Duddus" Coke, who had been accused of gun and drug trafficking offences by the US law enforcement authorities. The Prime Minister admitted his involvement in the lobbying efforts and subsequently ordered an operation to arrest the gang leader, in which nearly 80 persons were killed.
The opposition PNP led a motion of no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister focusing on his handling of the Coke extradition proceedings and his admission that he had been involved in the use of a US law firm to lobby for the cancellation of the extradition request. The motion was defeated 31 to 28 with one absentee when members of the House of Representatives voted along strict party lines. Calls for the resignation of the Prime Minister also came from a wide cross-section of social groups. In other developments, a public opinion poll commissioned by one of Jamaica’s leading newspapers, the Gleaner, and conducted in April and May found “that six in every 10 Jamaicans disagreed with how Golding and his band of merry men and women handled the extradition request” (The Sunday Gleaner, 13 June, 2010). In disaggregating the findings the newspaper noted implications for the governing party’s overall status with the electorate.
Jamaica is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. The Government of Jamaica does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Over the year 2015, the Jamaican Government made strong progress in the prosecution of trafficking offenders and continues its solid efforts to prevent human trafficking, although its services to trafficking victims remained largely inadequate. The United States has urged Jamaica to expand efforts to investigate, convict, and punish traffickers for their crimes; extend training on human trafficking issues among law enforcement agencies; increase funding for shelter services and other assistance to victims; and continue awareness campaigns aimed at vulnerable populations, especially young people.
Crime poses a greater threat to foreign investments in Jamaica than political violence. Violent crime, rooted in poverty, unemployment, and drug trafficking, is a serious problem in Jamaica, particularly in urban areas. Sporadic gang violence and shootings are concentrated in specific inner city neighborhoods, but can occur elsewhere. Extortion is a serious problem in certain urban commercial areas, and although rare, has also been known to occur on large construction project sites. In 2014, four employees of China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) were killed while transporting a USD20,000 payroll for workers. In April 2009 small sporadic disturbances occurred in response to a new gasoline tax.
The conviction rate for murder was approximately 16 percent through the first 10 months of 2016, and the courts continued to be plagued with a culture of trial postponements and delay. This lack of efficacy within the criminal courts contributed to impunity for many of the worst criminal offenders and gangs, an abnormally high rate of violent crimes, and lack of cooperation by witnesses and potential jurors. The underperforming judiciary has also engendered frustration among police officers and the public, a significant social cost and drain on the economy, and a disincentive for tourism and international investment.
While public perception of corruption is high and remains a consideration for investors, few U.S. firms have identified corruption as a significant deterrent to starting a business operation in Jamaica. Successive administrations have attempted to address corruption by enacting legislation and signing various international conventions. To date, there have been no high-level convictions. Jamaica improved its ranking from 85 to 69 out of 168 countries surveyed globally in 2015 in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.
Under the Corruption Prevention Act, public servants can be imprisoned for up to ten years and fined as much as USD100,000 if found guilty of engaging in acts of bribery, including bribes to foreign public officials. The Major Organized Crime and Anticorruption Agency (MOCA) independently investigates official corruption and organized crime.
The Corruption Prevention Commission (CPC) oversees statutory financial declarations of public sector workers and investigates alleged acts of corruption. The Integrity Commission investigates corruption allegations for members of Parliament, and the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) seeks to ensure transparency and efficiency in government procurement. A key area of concern for corruption is in government procurement, on which the OCG serves as a watchdog. However, successful prosecutions for corruption are rare and the compliance rate for mandatory financial reports is around 52%.
Many Jamaicans believe that corruption is one of the root causes of Jamaica’s high crime rate and economic stagnation. In 2015, Transparency International gave Jamaica a score of 41 out of a possible 100 on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), the second best ranking of six countries in the Caribbean. According to the CPI, 85% of respondents in Jamaica felt that political parties were corrupt/extremely corrupt. That figure was 74% for parliament and 86% for the police force. U.S. firms do not tend to cite corruption as an obstacle to foreign investment, nor has the Embassy seen evidence of disproportionate application of corruption measures against foreign investors.
Because of the government’s weak efforts to prosecute officials’ alleged corrupt practices, corruption remained a significant systemic problem of public concern. Media and civil society organizations continued to criticize the director of public prosecutions for being slow and at times reluctant to prosecute corruption cases. The Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), which is part of the JCF, conducted raids on and uncovered corruption in several parish councils. Through 18 September 2016, MOCA arrested and charged eight officials for public-sector corruption and 18 police officers for corruption. Through June 2016 courts reached 13 convictions, 3 acquittals, and 12 dismissals. As of September 30,114 corruption cases were pending in the courts.
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