Murders increased during Olympics

Nearly 70 people were murdered across Jamaica during the two-week period of the just-concluded Olympic Games, bucking a traditional trend of a respite in the mayhem during major international sporting events.

A total of 69 murders and 55 shootings were recorded between July 23, when the 2020 Games got under way in Tokyo, Japan, and August 8 when it ended, an analysis of Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) statistics has revealed. This represented an increase over the corresponding period last year.

The police recorded 28 killings in the first week of the Olympics and 41 in the second week, according to the statistics.

Seven murders and six shootings occurred on August 3 – the same day Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah made history as the first woman to win the ‘double-double’ by capturing gold medals in the 100-metre and 200-metre races at consecutive Olympic Games.

Sixty-four murders were recorded over the comparative two-week period last year when there was no major international event.

“The vernacular ‘the devil finds work for idle hands’ is true,” said Dr Saphire Longmore, president of the Jamaica Psychiatric Association.

“So I’m not too surprised to hear it. It is unfortunate, but it just reflects the impact of COVID on people’s psyche.”

Longmore continued, “The level of socialisation that tends to happen with watching these events, celebrating our involvement and success, has been impacted by COVID. And the frustrations of the restrictions do have an impact.”

However, the figures came as a surprise to one well-known peace advocate, who noted that there is usually a lull in the violence during big international games. So “I am very surprised it didn’t happen this time around,” said the peace advocate who requested anonymity.

EVOLVING CRIMINAL LANDSCAPE

For Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang, the increased killings during the Olympics reflect the evolving nature of Jamaica’s criminal landscape.

“A lot of the [gang] leaders are now in jail. So, the youngsters who work for a gang they identify with, they use events like this to find the people they want because people come out to watch,” said Chang, who is also deputy prime minister, during an interview with The Sunday Gleaner on Friday.

“Him don’t take direction or control from anybody. He wants John Brown from Shaw Park. [Athlete name redacted] did well from Shaw Park, the people are celebrating so John Brown must come out come show him face,” the national security minister reasoned.

According to Longmore, research has shown that individual and team sporting events are “significantly beneficial” to the individuals and the communities around them.

“There is a sense of commonality, there is a sense of unity and a sense of accomplishment that our sports figures can foster and that, in and of itself, can be beneficial to the wider society,” Longmore asserted.

Though Jamaica was not represented at the 2018 football World Cup, police data shows that the country recorded a near 100 per cent drop in murders over the one-month period of the tournament, held between June and July that year.

But amid Jamaica’s brilliance on the track during the 2020 Tokyo Games, marauding thugs were creating mayhem across the island. The Kingston West and the Westmoreland police divisions each recorded nine murders over the two weeks of the Olympics, an analysis of the JCF data shows.

There were eight murders in St Andrew North, seven in St Andrew South and five each in St Catherine North and Clarendon to round out the top six.

No murders were recorded in St Elizabeth and Thompson-Herah’s parish of Manchester over the two-week period.

Between January 1 and last Thursday, a total of 881 people were reported killed in Jamaica, nine per cent or 70 more than the figure recorded for the comparative period last year, according to the latest statistics compiled by the police.

RISE IN CRIME FROM PANDEMIC

While conceding that it was too early to be sure, Professor Anthony Clayton believes it is possible that “we are seeing the rise in crime that we expected to follow the pandemic”.

“During the pandemic, about 120,000 [Jamaican] children disappeared from the education system, almost one-third of the children in school. Many of the ones who were due to leave school at this time will be going out with no qualifications and very little hope of a decent job,” Clayton noted.

“So, it is likely that there will be a sustained rise in the level of crime as these disadvantaged children become adults,” he reasoned.

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com