Avellon Williams
JAMAICA- An island with one of the highest murder rates in the region, Jamaica’s prime minister declared a state of emergency on Tuesday to combat gang violence.
Several Kingston communities and six of Jamaica’s 14 parishes are affected, including popular tourist destinations like Montego Bay.
As a result of the state of emergency, authorities can arrest people and search buildings without a warrant, drawing heavy criticism from political opponents and activists who have warned against a repeat of previous states of emergency that led to police abuse and mass detentions.
Recently, El Salvador and Honduras imposed similar measures.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Andrew Holness dismissed critics, saying he prioritizes saving lives.
“That is all the government is trying to do,” he said, adding that Jamaicans “have to hide under their beds, hide their daughters, can’t go to church, and they see their sons and their boyfriends and husbands killed. That’s the reality.”
A spokesman with Jamaica’s Constabulary Force told the media that the island of 2.8 million people has reported 1,421 killings this year, outpacing 1,375 killings last year.
As of this year, there have been 643 killings in Chicago, a U.S. city with a similar population to Jamaica.
“We have some really serious criminal threats facing us, and we have to use all the powers at our disposal,” Holness said.
Many murders in Jamaica are attributed to gangs known as “posses” that are connected to major political parties and rely on extortion, drug trafficking, and lottery scams to fund their operations.
Human rights activists have criticized Jamaica’s implementation of several states of emergency in recent years. Jamaica’s Supreme Court has ruled several times – most recently in June – that detaining Jamaicans for months without a trial is unconstitutional.
Former Howard University professor and expert on emergency powers Jermaine Young say states of emergency deliver marginal results and have worrying consequences.
“Jamaica has a sordid reputation for abusing emergency powers,” Young wrote in an essay this month. The police and military “have engaged in practices that include arbitrary and unlawful mass extended detentions, extrajudicial killings and internal renditions.”
This measure is being defended by Jamaican authorities. In the two-week period following the state of emergency, killings declined by 64%, according to Police Chief Maj. Gen. Anthony Johnson.
Prime Minister acknowledged the concerns.
