Crawford: Lawyers, politicians benefiting from crime
Published:Wednesday | December 19, 2018 | 12:00 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
Western Bureau:
Opposition Senator Damion Crawford, who is also a vice president of the People's National Party (PNP), has charged that some prominent politicians and attorneys are among the persons benefiting from the proceeds of crime in Jamaica.
Crawford, made the claim while delivering the keynote address at a recent fundraising event for the PNP Youth Organisation in Montego Bay, St James.
"They say crime pays, then how the poorest places have the most crime? Who is getting this pay, and who is going for him?" questioned Crawford, as he claimed that those behind the crime are not in the poor communities.
"I am talking the ones in the big communities, the lawyers and the (politicians)."
Crawford added: "Unuh meditate on these things. The truth shall be spoken because you know, but everybody afraid; everybody afraid to speak on these things."
Not caused by poverty
He charged that the claim that poverty causes crime is a false narrative being advanced by the wealthy.
"We have bought into a lie created by the wealthy that poverty caused crime. If poverty caused crime, that is a great alibi for the rich, because how you must come to me and I am not poor?"
Crawford also argued that if something does not have a shared direction or majority outcome, it cannot be a causal effect.
"We have seen in Jamaica where poverty goes down and crime goes up; therefore, there is no shared direction," said Crawford. "We also know that 500,000 people live below the poverty line and if I give every murder to a different murderer, it's only 2,000 murderers.
"If every murderer only commits one murder and then him resign, we have no more than 2,000 murderers, and we have 500,000 poor people. If poverty cause crime, how come the other 498,000 never decide to participate?" asked Crawford.
"We have a government who have been convinced by the classists, just to go into the poor areas, and everyone deserve it, because since them broke, they are criminals or criminals-to-be," added Crawford.