On Wednesday, Jamaican Prime Minister (PM) Andrew Holness declared a State of Emergency (SOE) in nine of the country’s 14 parishes due to the rising “threat of violence.”
In a public address on Wednesday, he asserted, “We have some really serious criminal threats facing us and we have to use all the powers at our disposal,” adding, “We have to ensure that our homicide rate and the level of violence that citizens experience on a daily basis does not get to the point where it threatens to collapse the state.”
My job as your Prime Minister is to ensure that my people are safe, and I will not stop until that is achieved.
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) December 7, 2022
We will continue to be relentless on all fronts to combat this epidemic that we have of crime and violence. pic.twitter.com/Tae9LWi7er
During an SOE, authorities can detain people and search buildings without a warrant, which has led to mass arrests and police abuse during past emergencies. The opposition and the public have condemned the latest SOE, which has been imposed for the second time in two months.
The Supreme Court, too, has condemned the SOEs, most recently in June, saying that arresting a person for months without a trial is unconstitutional.
However, Holness has dismissed the criticism, saying the government is only trying to save lives. He stressed 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.”
The PM maintained that “it is not the intention of the government to abuse these powers,” which would be in force “as long as it is needed.” He also noted that during the previous SOEs, “we have improved the regulations taking into consideration the public debate, the arguments put forward by our courts, which we welcome. It has helped to refine the measure as it is provided for in the Constitution.”
National Broadcast on States of Emergency in Jamaica | Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, MP
— PNP Jamaica (@JamaicaPNP) December 6, 2022
Click the link to watch the full video: https://t.co/ILFHpiLnpS pic.twitter.com/mUT0whP54n
“I believe Jamaica understands that while the Government is trying to improve the legislative framework and the capacity of our police to be able to execute their jobs with greater technology, greater efficiency, greater training,” Holness remarked.
This year, the island nation, which has a population of just 2.8 million and one of the highest murder rates in the Caribbean, has reported 1,421 killings, up from 1,374 during the same period last year. These fatal crimes are committed largely by gangs, also known as “posses,” connected with political parties, who depend on extortion, drug trafficking, and lottery scams.
Jermain Young, a former professor at Howard University, wrote in an essay this month that “Jamaica has a sordid reputation for abusing emergency powers,” with the police and military engaging in “practices that include arbitrary and unlawful mass extended detentions, extrajudicial killings, and internal renditions.”
Nevertheless, Police Chief Maj. Gen. Anthony Johnson has defended the SOE, noting a 64% decline in murders during last month’s two-week state of public emergency between 15 and 29 November. The country’s senate did not approve extending the SOE last month.
The Gov sends the SOE Regulations to the Printers to be printed for tabling in Parliament. Then after they are printed and tabled, the Gov withdraws the Regulations so the AG can review them? Very strange and suspicious. Something nuh right! https://t.co/nZw7oo37wb
— Mark J. Golding (@MarkJGolding) December 7, 2022
Soon after announcing the emergency, Holness left for Washington to meet with the United States (US) Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to discuss “getting a more intense cooperation in treating with the foreign actors in our local crimes — those dons who have migrated overseas.”
“If you are overseas and your sponsorship is directing, soliciting, and financing crime in Jamaica, we are going to get you,” he warned, adding that the government has a “comprehensive plan to secure Jamaica.”
Similar public emergencies have also been announced in other island nations in the region, such as in El Salvador and Honduras.
Since March, more than 58,000 gang members have been arrested in El Salvador this year, owing to President Nayib Bukele’s “state of exception” in order to crack down on gang violence, drawing huge scrutiny from rights groups about due process in the country.
Likewise, Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Monday declared a state of exception in the capital Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, impacting the constitutional rights of association, free movement, searches, and arrests to combat the growing gang violence from gangs like Barrio 18 and MS-13.
Though there is heavy criticism of such measures, policymakers can point to the example of Haiti to show what could happen if crime is left to grow unabated. It is estimated that 60% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, is under the control of gangs. About 200 gangs operate across the island, with 95 in Port-au-Prince alone; the gangs were responsible for killing 1,000 people between January and June this year.
Instability in Haiti has exponentially risen since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse last July. Matters were further heated after PM Henry was accused of being complicit in the murder. In fact, even prior to Moïse’s death, Haitians held protests over his economic mismanagement, “violent repression,” and decision to rule by decree for close to a year. The country’s problems were further compounded by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake last August that killed over 2,2000 people and left 30,000 families homeless.
Furthermore, gas prices have risen to as high as $10 per gallon, resulting in renewed protests across the nation. Fuel shortages were further compounded this year by a two-month gang blockade on a critical fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince that ended only last month. The blockade has led to a sharp rise in cholera cases, as it impeded the ability to transport clean water and left several hospitals, many of which run on fuel generators, understaffed and underresourced.