Tattoo warning

Parliament is to debate a bill proposing that tattoos and other symbols be used under the powerful anti-gang legislation to identify criminals as it moves to further clamp down on the country’s most notorious organisations.

Currently, the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Act only stipulates that the court can take into account whether the person in question has admitted to being part of the gang or whether there is evidence of criminal activity by the person that indicates a link of involvement with a criminal organisation.

Gang participants can also be identified if there is evidence that a person knowingly assisted in disposing or concealing the proceeds of unlawful gang activity.

If the amendment is passed, “any symbols or markings (whether in the form of tattoos or any other item), on or in the possession of the person”, could be used to point out gang members.

But anthropologist Dr Herbert Gayle contends that the amendment might not be as useful as Jamaican gangs are not heavy users of tattoos to denote association.

“They are not very strong in Jamaica, but in Latin America, tattoos are markets. Hand signals, too,” Gayle told The Gleaner on Tuesday.

This was corroborated in a 2010 publication by Small Arms Survey.

“I know they are a few markers here, but tattoos are not as popular here. People here are more concerned with turf,” he said.

Gayle pointed out that unlike in Latin America, there are many instances in which people wear tattoos and are unaware of their meanings and associations.

He said he was shocked to see how popular teardrops have become in Jamaica.

“I have seen a few; some of it is idleness. I have seen kids here with teardrops and then I asked them, ‘What is the value of the teardrops?’, they don’t know. ‘It just looks nice.’

“It could be interesting if the police are going to use that to ID somebody here and the person says ‘I just like it,’”Gayle argued.

It is not the first time the Government has ventured down this path.

In 2013, the Simpson Miller administration tabled legislation that proposed to criminalise the promotion of gangs in songs or by way of tattoos.

The bill at the time proposed prison time of up to 20 years.

It was not eventually included in the passed legislation.

In the meantime, Gayle, while not throwing out the new proposal, suggested that there should be caution when seeking to use tattoos to make associations in the Jamaican context.

“I am meeting a lot of kids who don’t know what they are wearing on their bodies. The police could proceed like this: If you see somebody with a tattoo, you could use that as an indicator that there is a possibility, not an indicator of certainty,” the anthropologist argued.