US embassy cable - 05KINGSTON829

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 000829 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
WHA/CAR (BENT), SOUTHCOM J7 (RHANNAN) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KCRM, SNAR, JM 
SUBJECT: NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER (AND PM-HOPEFUL) 
ANNOUNCES WAR ON CRIME 
 
(U) This message is Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
1. (U) Summary:  Prompted by an escalating murder rate, on 
March 17 Minister of National Security Peter Phillips, in an 
address to graduates of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) 
training academy announced: "We are at war.  The criminal 
gangs that have been spawned by the illegal drug trade have 
established their tentacles in selective communities where 
they use bribery and paramilitary violence to maintain 
control."  The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), National Reserve, 
and JCF will target what Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas 
has identified as the most volatile areas of Jamaica. 
Although 2004 was a record year for crime, there is already 
in 2005 a 52 percent increase in the murder rate compared to 
the same time last year.  The GOJ has recruited officers from 
the UK, passed fingerprinting legislation and tabled the Plea 
Bargaining bill in Parliament, all in an effort to combat 
crime.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) On March 17, Minister of National Security Peter 
Phillips, addressing graduates of the Jamaica Constabulary 
Force (JCF) Police Academy in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, 
announced, "We are at war.  The criminal gangs that have been 
spawned by the illegal drug trade have established their 
tentacles in selective communities where they use bribery and 
paramilitary violence to maintain control."  ( Note: In a 
recent seizure, the JCF retrieved six AK-47s, three sniper 
rifles, one M-16, two shotguns, one Intratec-Nine sub-machine 
gun, a silencer, assorted rounds of ammunition, and two 
ballistic vests.)  Phillips said that with the full backing 
of Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and the Cabinet, the Jamaica 
Defense Force (JDF) and National Reserve will assist the JCF 
in an all-out effort against criminal gangs.  (Note: The 
National Reserve is the reserve battalion of the JDF which is 
deployed during times of natural disaster or crisis.  End 
note.)  The deployment of the National Reserve at this time 
means that there will be extra military personnel to assist 
the JCF.  This collaboration of military and police will 
target what Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas has 
identified as the most volatile areas of Jamaica:  St. 
Catherine North and South, St. James, St. Andrew South, and 
Kingston East.  The deployment of military officers is 
expected to remain until "calm and normalcy" is restored to 
these communities. 
 
3. (U) This is not the first time the JDF has assisted the 
police in the fight against crime.  The JDF often accompany 
the JCF on police patrols to enforce curfews, conduct 
searches and clamp down on crime in volatile areas.  As 
Minister Phillips is vying for the leadership of the People's 
National Party (PNP) and ultimately the position of prime 
minister, he has a political interest in wanting to be seen 
as doing everything possible to combat crime.  There has been 
wide speculation in the media that by virtue of Phillip's 
position as the nation's security minister, the ultimate 
responsibility for the escalating crime and the record murder 
rate rests with him. 
 
4. (U) In the first three months of 2005 Jamaica has seen a 
52 percent increase in murders compared to the same time last 
year.  GOJ officials have attributed this increase to the 
success of Operation Kingfish and a resulting decrease in 
drugs on the island (and thereby reducing the size of the 
criminal proceeds pie that gang members are now fighting 
over) as well as a lack of resources for the JCF.  Statistics 
compiled by the JCF show thirty percent of homicides were 
gang related and 41 percent were committed during the 
commission of other criminal acts such as robbery, burglary 
and rape.  As of March 20, there had been over 370 homicides 
in Jamaica in 2005. 
 
5. (U) The Minister has also called for outside help in the 
fight against crime.  On March 1, London Metropolitan Police 
Chief, Mark Shields, a 29 year veteran, began his secondment 
to the JCF as Deputy Commissioner in charge of crime, the 
second-ranking position in the JCF after Thomas.  Shields is 
expected to implement strategies to reduce the homicide rate 
and develop an efficient and systematic approach to the 
deployment of police resources.  Ten additional UK officers 
will provide the JCF with technical expertise in the areas of 
investigative techniques and case preparation and will also 
provide training for selected senior members of the JCF. 
 
6.  (U) On March 8, the House of Representatives passed an 
amendment to the Fingerprints Act which will allow police to 
take fingerprints and photographs of suspected persons, 
including minors between the age of 12 and 17 years, without 
a court order.  The bill allows for the destruction of prints 
and photographs by the Fingerprint Bureau after an acquittal 
and also for all minors once they reach the age of 18.  This 
has been deemed by senior officials in the police, government 
and private sector as a much needed step towards getting a 
handle on alleged criminals that have successfully slipped 
through the cracks for the lack of the JCF's ability to 
properly identify and track them.  Plea bargaining 
legislation has been tabled in Parliament but is not yet 
scheduled for debate. 
 
7.  (SBU) Comment:  While the assistance of the JDF and the 
National Reserve seems a prudent measure, what is often 
missing from the equation is a lack of will in some key 
sectors of Jamaican society to confront crime head-on. 
Although it might be unfair to describe Phillips' motives in 
announcing this "war" as purely political, as the race heats 
up as to who will succeed Prime Minister Patterson, the crime 
issue can make or break his candidacy.  If Phillips can gain 
and maintain public confidence in his latest anti-crime 
initiative, he knows it can only facilitate his higher 
political aspirations.  Whatever Phillips' core motives, he 
and the GOJ increasingly appreciate that they must get a grip 
on the crime situation in its social, economic, judicial and 
security aspects. 
TIGHE