- FILE
Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas, and Jevene Bent, deputy commissioner of police, speak to the media during a press conference at the Police Officers' Club in St. Andrew.
Gareth Manning, Freelance Writer
IT IS widely believed that the majority of murder victims last year were involved in crime or associated with persons who are involved in criminal activities.
Even if this is so, police statistics show that nearly three quarters of those murdered last year were employed citizens with the majority of them labourers. Labourers accounted for 397 deaths, followed by 64 taxi-operators and 59 farmers.
NOT RANDOM?
"When the numbers are given, an analysis is done of how these crimes are committed, who are the people committing these crimes and who are the people affected, this will help us. Because there is fear that there is random shooting and the killing of everybody. The statistics are pointing out that it is not so. If you are not involved in crime, you are not likely to be so killed," said Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas at his Crime Plan press briefing last month.
Explaining further, Commissioner Thomas told The Sunday Gleaner that "There are a number of people who were shot and killed because of their involvement in criminal activities or being associated with it. But some innocent mothers, fathers and children died, too."
He said the majority of the victims last year were murdered as reprisals for gang violence and drug-related activities.
However, recent police statistics show gang and drug activities were only 20 per cent of the motives for murder, with drug-related violence accounting for a minimal one per cent and gangs accounting for 19 per cent.
Other criminal activities accounted for the vast majority of murders accounting for 41 per cent of the motives.
The motives of 31 per cent of murders were undetermined. But Commissioner Thomas says this is so because not all murders have been thoroughly investigated.
As a result, he says, a bulk of drug-related and gang-related murders end up in the undetermined and other criminal acts categories.
"Everyday analyses of the data and investigations are being done to determine the real motive of the murders and often we find that a number of them are gang related," the Commissioner said.
He could not say if the new data will be released to the media or the public. But he maintains there are people who disguise their involvement in crime with legitimate jobs.
"A lot of people in organised crime have businesses. There are people with legitimate businesses as fronts and behind that they are in organised crime. They are in gun trafficking, drug trafficking and other forms of crime," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
NO AGREEMENT
Opposition Spokesman on National Security Derrick Smith and JLP Senator Dwight Nelson do not agree with the commissioner.
Mr. Smith said studies of last year's crime data indicated that the killings were done randomly.
"I don't necessarily agree with the Commissioner. A detailed analysis of the persons murdered last year would tend to suggest that a majority of the people murdered were gainfully employed not withstanding the fact that drug-related and gang-related violence were ahead of the list. So I think the chance of any individual going about their lawful business being murdered is as good as anyone else or as bad," he said in an interview with The Gleaner/ Power 106 News Centre.
The head of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, Senator Nelson shared similar views, and described the Commissioner's statements as "unfortunate".
"I would challenge any attempt to establish that the majority of workers murdered were involved in crime. I think it was an unfortunate statement and it certainly speaks negatively to the integrity and honesty of the working class people," he said.
