Police and crime control in Jamaica : problems of reforming ex-colonial constabularies

Police and Crime Control in Jamaica is a valuable addition to the sparse literature on policing in developing states, and is the first study of its kind on a police force in a Caribbean territory. The work examines the extent and sources of police ineffectiveness in controlling crime. It assesses the quality of justice and declining public confidence in the criminal justice system. Police reform efforts, as well as sources of cynicism among members of the force, are analysed. This study of policing and citizen-state relations is especially relevant to the tourism-dependent countries of the Caribbean amid growing recognition of the negative impact of high rates of violent crime on these economies. This book will be much valued by students of criminology and criminal justice, especially those with an interest in the Caribbean, as well as the general reader who is concerned with issues of crime and policing. Contents 8 Tables 10 Figures 11 Acknowledgments 12 Abbreviations 14 Introduction 16 Conceptual Frame 22 Method 32 Organization of the Study 34 Section I: Context 36 1 The Changing Structure of Crime in Jamaica 38 Structure of Crime 44 Patterns of Violent Crime 47 Changes in the Social Organization of Criminals 49 The Embeddedness of Criminality 55 Conclusion 59 2 Police Organization 61 Police Ineffectiveness 63 Attitudes to the Organizational Principles of the Traditional Model of Policing 76 Principles on which the Security Model of Policing is Based 77 Conclusion 78 Section II: The Problems 80 3 Rank and Money in the Bank: Corruption in the JCF 82 Typology of Corruption 83 Institutionalized Corruption 90 Organization 96 Level of Tolerance and Justificatory Arguments 99 Sources of Corruption 102 Difficulties in Treating Corruption 104 Conclusion 106 4 The Somnolent yet Aggressive Watchman: The JCF's Style of Work 107 Work Avoidance 109 Paramilitarism 111 Illustrations of Style 120 Conclusion 127 5 Police and Community: Policing the Inner City 128 The Research Communities 129 The Doctrine of Survivalism 135 Policing the Community 137 Defensive Strategies Adopted against the Police 142 Community Policing: The Case of Alexanderville 147 Conclusion 153 Section III: The Reforms 154 6 Attempts at Reform 156 The Historical Background 157 Sources of the Reforms 160 Improving Credibility and Accountability 161 Restoring Discipline and Reducing Corruption 162 Respect for the Law and Civil Liberties 165 Improving Capability 167 Criticisms of the Professional Reform Model 169 Conclusion 171 7 Attitudes to Reform 172 Attitudes to the Treatment of Crime 173 Attitude to Citizens' Rights 175 Attitude to Law Enforcement 177 Police Style 178 Attitude to Reform 182 Ideological Fragmentation 184 Direction and Commitment to Reform 190 The Power Configuration of the Coalitions for and against Change 191 Conclusion 194 8 Resistance to Reform 195 Reliance on Coercive Power 196 The Strategy and Tactics of Resistance 199 The Shift in Favour of the Defensive Coalition 208 Conclusion 215 9 Conclusion 217 The Limits of Reform 218 Policy Options 219 Appendix 228 Notes 236 Bibliography 243 Index 254 A 254 B 254 C 254 D 256 E 257 F 257 G 257 H 258 I 258 J 258 K 259 L 259 M 259 N 260 O 260 P 260 Q 262 R 262 S 264 T 265 U 265 V 265 W 265 Police and Crime Control in Jamaica is a valuable addition to the sparse literature on policing in developing states, and is the first study of its kind dedicated to the state of a police force in a Caribbean territory. The work examines the extent and sources of police ineffectiveness in controlling crime. It assesses the quality of justice, and declining public confidence in the criminal justice system. Police reform efforts, as well as sources of cynicism among members of the force, are analysed. This study of policing and citizen-state relations is especially relevant to the tourism-dependent countries of the Caribbean amid growing recognition of the negative impact of high rates of violent crime on these economies. This book will be much valued by students of criminology and criminal justice, especially those with an interest in the Caribbean, as well as the general reader who is concerned with issues of crime and policing. A study of policing and citizen-state relations in Jamaica. It examines the extent and sources of police ineffectiveness in controlling crime; assesses the quality of justice and declining public confidence in the criminal justice system; and analyzes police reform efforts. The behaviour of the police is shaped largely by the sociopolitical context in which they operate.