Organized Crime In The Caribbean

“In terms of justice, the most important thing is not to be a part of organized crime.” This quote, stated by Josefina Vasquez Mota, a distinguished female Mexican executive and politician, succinctly depicts the negative connotations of the phenomenon of organized crime. Such a phenomenon exists in multiple different states; however, in the context of Jamaica – one of the larger and well-known islands in the Caribbean, organized crime often operates in tandem with the occurrence of gang violence. These two aspects of criminality pose a serious threat to the nation’s welfare within local, regional and international scopes. This report serves to identify and trace the incidence of organized crime and gang violence from its roots to its present

Arias (2013) explains in his report, that organized crime exhibits itself in numerous manners in the nation, inclusive of “extortion, drug trafficking, and large-scale corporate fraud”, and attests to the level of maturity in its operation over time. Harriot (2001) agrees; he confirms that the concentration of urban joblessness, poverty, and poor educational opportunities in organized crime hotspots is the outcome of a long process of marginalization, “which has now matured and become more criminogenic”. Moreover, the pervasiveness of political corruption and its symbiotic relationship to organized crime and gang violence allows it to exacerbate its stronghold on the island, “nurturing a dependency on organized crime groups for the running of the country” (Arias, 2013; Harriot, 2001). Corruption extends far beyond the reaches of politics, however; the police force, those with the responsibilities of suppressing organized crime, are also possible perpetrators (Caribbean Research Policy Institute, 2007). An added characteristic of Jamaica’s organized crime landscape is an unnaturally high and increasing level of violent crime. Literature attributes this sharp growth to the occurrence of drug trafficking (Mogensen et al., 2005; McDavid, Cowell, & McDonald, 2011), however, McDavid,

Leslie (2010) identifies the gravest consequence of organized crime and gang violence to be the high murder rate, resulting from gang warfare within groups, against other gangs in the surrounding communites, and law-enforcement conflicts. Conflicts stem from control over territories, but largely focus on control over resources from the drug trade and extortion. The resulting violence from these conflicts leaves communities crippled in the wake, and consequently causes the drawing of invisible lines of demarcation between and within communities. This severely limits freedom of movement within living spaces, as enforcers at the borders kill ‘trespassers’. During times of heightened violence, it hampers educational opportunities, as children are unable to go to school, especially if these lines separate their daily route (Leslie, 2010). This enforces a cyclical effect of further violence – society sees education as a tool for upward social mobility; if violence hinders educational pursuits, adolescents seek other forms of achieving material gain and social status, and therefore, draw into the allure of organized crime. At an economic standpoint, organized crime and gang violence directly prevents economic growth and advancement. As stated by Smith and Green (2007), organized crime