FI MI CONCERN - CRIME & SCAMMING By Michael Spence

Why The Monster Continues To Grow?

You are a thinking person "values" are things that people value. Money, girls, nice cars ,big house, nice clothes, rich man, legal guns, nothing is wrong with that but if there is no opportunity legally to achieve those in Western Jamaica where the rural economy on which I grew up has virtually died while the Kingston quasi colonial government send reinforcements to quell disturbances and nothing else. The attitudes in line with modern free enterprise values are not being identical to 50 years ago thus neither understood or being prepared for spells trouble. Montego tumbled up around sugar plantations, and then came tourism, then the introduction to ganja cultivation and exports with the cocaine rider later so the government responds to the "drug problem" ignoring all the other socio-economic problems that gave rise to the resultant problem. Here we go again despicable scamming is the problem and you get rid of that now without the causative situations looked at my guess is as good as yours what will be the next frontier.

Just talking for sound bites about values and attitudes is not only intellectually deceitful or i would prefer to believe it is borne out of ignorance they could may as well call upon the well utilized refrain "divine intervention" but do not remember that God helps those who help themselves. Everybody including scammers, drug dealers, government, robot operators, school children, police and regular gunmen do. Some not leaving their bibles and ask God for assistance every step of their way. Herbert Gayle, an anthropologist of social violence at Jamaica’s University of the West Indies, Mona, said in January 2016 that authorities have not addressed the root cause of violence in Jamaica, so it was only a matter of time before killings ticked upward. No one is paying attention and we are reaping the whirlwind of murders. Poverty, inequality, greed, relative deprivation, unemployment, lack of primary education, state violence, corruption and disregarding the rule of even basic laws have been identified as some of the main drivers of criminality which must be consistently focused on.14/07/16

The Security Forces And Crime

Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin says the police high command must be mindful that elements within the security forces may be contributing to the crime surge. Mr Lewin must have known that this has been an open secret from the early days. Do you recall police men were being shot regularly in Montego Bay and environs? The allegations are that police used to raid known scammers and let us say they are caught with $550000 they would take the $500000 do no arrests and leave them with $50000. Many have allegedly gotten quite wealthy .The scammer would see that state of affairs as cop stealing from them and organize deadly retribution. It’s like every major drug dealer or Don allegedly has cops on their payroll some high ranking as low ranking cops are not as useful these too are open secrets that every commissioner and most Jamaicans are aware of but you know "a di runnings an man haffi eat a food so you lef dat alone".

You think any low ranking police or civilian can stop that? Madden, Sam Isaacs or other funeral homes pick them up poisoned (remember SSP Dayton Henry during 2013while in charge of the Clarendon police the jury found that he was “systematically” poisoned. To date no one has been charged) or the aftermath of an alleged shoot out. Mr Lewin and other Commissioners past and present must have been aware of the information out there on the road but I concede that no one is ever willing to assist in any prosecution because the reality is that everyman wants to live at the end of the day. 14/07/16