US$1B THREAT
Gun-loving scammers could destabilise country, Chang warns in championing ‘strong policing’ with army support
Published:Thursday | June 2, 2022 | 12:11 AM
National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang has blamed a sharp 53 per cent year-on-year rise in homicides in western Jamaica on the annual inflow of US$1 billion in illicit funds that are used to buy guns to target rival gangs involved in lottery scamming.
In his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Wednesday, Chang told his fellow parliamentarians that gangs that are involved in advance-fee fraud – or lottery scamming – usually avoid petty crimes but mark their competitors for death.
He said this was evident in the Area One Police Division, comprising St James, Westmoreland, Hanover, and Trelawny, which has the highest increase in killings, more than 70 cases higher than seen in the first five months of 2021.
Noting that the scammers are scattered in small groups in deep-rural areas, Chang said they operate wherever cell phone connectivity is available.
The national security minister said that the alleged US$1 billion flowing into the country’s economy from illicit activities is posing a grave risk to the stability of the Jamaican State.
“The money is used to buy guns that kill people, and it undermines and corrupts institutions and has a negative impact on the economy,” he said, noting that the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency, the Financial Investigation Division, and the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch are working closely to get on top of what is an emerging major crisis.
Chang pointed out that gangs involved in extortion, drug dealing, and turf control have a high incidence of community killings, which can be addressed by known tactical policing as demonstrated by what is currently happening in sections of the Corporate Area.
The crime statistics show that year-to-date, Area Four, which covers most of the Corporate Area, is experiencing 70 fewer murders, or a 32 per cent decline, compared to the corresponding period in 2021. Chang attributed this decline to hotspot policing, the use of technology, and effective analysis.
However, he said that the upsurge in murders in western Jamaica reflected a significant shift of criminal activities to the rural areas, where the use of hotspot policing and technology are far less effective.
He conceded that controlling the criminal violence in the deep-rural spaces presents a challenge.
And the debate about whether the country should fund the security forces adequately or deploy resources in the area of social investment was “ridiculous”, said Chang, arguing that there was no conflict.
He said that there was no point in using young police officers to counsel hardened criminals, adding that the force must deploy trained men to deal with hardcore killers.
“You cannot deal with hardcore killers without strong policing ... . A man who is scamming US$100,000 per month and hiring gunmen, beside him travelling, you can’t talk about counselling him and give him $5,000 a week. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said the national security minister.
Chang contended that where gang violence was taking place, members of the Jamaica Defence Force must be deployed to support the police.
“We are not converting the army to police,” said Chang, noting that soldiers were trained to fight men with guns.
The national security minister said that in the past, significant funds that had been allocated for social investment were used to pay administrative staff.
“This thing had become a pork barrel for some people,” he said,adding that the Government’s social institutions must be strengthened to deliver the service.
Chang also took aim at the players involved in money laundering.
“Those people who rinse the money are doing as much damage to our community and society as much as the men who pull the trigger,” he said in his presentation.
He stressed that the facilitators of money laundering would be targeted, adding that the security forces were working with international partners to smash organised criminal networks locally. He said that while some success has been achieved in tackling organised crime, there was much more to be done.