Poverty, corruption top Jamaicans' list of causes of national murder mayhem
Published:Thursday | January 4, 2024 | 10:59 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter -
The first ever Don Anderson poll examining the main causes of Jamaica's murder rate has found just a percentage point separation, based on public perception, between top-ranked poverty and corruption in general.
The survey, conducted November 24 to December 7, has a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level.
The poll was designed and conducted by Market Research Services Ltd (MRSL) with financial support from what the company describes as a group of senior corporate executives of a publicly listed entity.
Among the 1,015 persons interviewed, only individuals aged 18 years and older and registered to vote were included in the sample.
Of those polled, 24 per cent of respondents said poverty was the main cause of the island's murders whereas corruption in general was blamed by 23 per cent.
The other contributing factors rounding out the top five were indiscipline (eight per cent), politicians (seven per cent), family structure (seven per cent) and gangs (six per cent).
Anderson, the head of MRSL, told The Gleaner that there was no trend or pattern by which to analyse the poll results as it was the first time, at least for several years, that such a survey was distinguishing between murder and crime in general.
“I don’t think we have had a question identical to this in the recent past. We’ve probably had something that talked about Jamaica's high crime rate but murder and crime is slightly different and I wouldn’t want to try to compare one against the other,” Anderson said.
The country has consistently surpassed 1,000 homicides over the last 10 years with the most recent data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) showcasing a decline of 7.8 per cent in 2023 when compared to the previous year.
“When you are at a high and chop off 10 per cent, you are still at a high. What is important to note is that two things stand out in this particular data. One is poverty and corruption [which is] equally important. Poverty is just one percentage point more,” Anderson noted.
The data is broken down by gender with 24 per cent of males polled considering corruption the greatest cause 22 per cent pointing to poverty.
“If we look at the situation with females now, 25 per cent, which is very much in line with the overall, say that poverty is number one against 22 per cent who say corruption in general is number one,” Anderson said as he pointed out that more males than females think corruption is the big problem, and vice versa.
Broken down further, the age groups polled, according to Anderson, might be an indication of how young people feel about the availability of jobs.
Among youths of ages 18-24, 36 per cent, well outside the average of 24 per cent, said poverty was the number one cause of the high murder rate.
Among this same group, 21 per cent believed corruption was the primary issue, and Anderson said that was important to note.
The two factors arose among the 25 to 34 age group also where 29 per cent said poverty was the number one cause and 28 per cent pointed to corruption.
“There is a certain degree of consistency among the young people but, primarily, the 18-24 [age group] say poverty is what is driving it up. It might be related to the fact that a lot of young people can’t get jobs,” Anderson said.
Among the older group, 45-54, 28 per cent cited corruption as the number one factor against 22 per cent who eyed poverty.
The St James police division, over past two years, has led the nation in murders with 200 homicides recorded in 2022 and 187 in 2023.
Oral Heaven, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), told The Gleaner that the main contributing factors are intertwined and speak to social interventions and family structure.
"If we can stabilise the family and also create jobs and try to get those young boys off the street and dismantle the gangs, naturally we are going to have a reduction in the murder rate,” Heaven said.
Heaven noted that, of the 187 homicides recorded in St James last year, most involved gang members killing gang members.
“In Mobay, there is no fear really because the killings are happening in areas where the gangs and indiscipline are, where the family structure is not there,” Heaven said.
He accepted that, although there is a reduction in murders year on year, St James is still where the highest number took place.
“We need the powers that be using the data to push the resources in St James so we can increase the policing… . We need the vehicles, the graduates coming in, more need to come to St James, we need to get these numbers down further,” he said, adding that the parish is not comfortable with either 187 or even one murder.
Pointing to a crime study commissioned by the MBCCI in December and conducted by the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean, Heaven said the findings are due later this month.
“The report looks at those social intervention issues: poverty, crime, corruption and gangs. When we hand over the study to the authorities, we will also assist in the implementation of social intervention programmes, going into the communities so we can create mentorship programmes,” he said.
Heaven also pointed out that the business community supports the police and recognises that law enforcement, from leadership down, is doing what it can with the resources available.
“If we are 187, the highest in the police divisions, the data simply shows that you need to put the most resources here,” Heaven said.