Crime, Policing and Human Rights Abuses - Davina Gayle, Jamaicans for Justice

Crime, Policing and Human Rights Abuses: Perceptions and Correlations
A survey conducted by Johnson Survey Research Limited in November 2009 indicated that, 81% of people perceived crime and violence as becoming more of a problem in Jamaica. This is not surprising, as the murder rate in Jamaica since 1980, has been consistently one of the highest in the world, second only to Colombia with South Africa running close behind. In 2005, 1.674 Jamaicans were murdered and in 2009, 1.680. Of the people surveyed, 52% disapproved of the job that the police in Jamaica were doing. The most popular answers put forward for this disapproval were: the police are not doing a good job; members of the police force took bribes and there was too much corruption in the police department; and the police themselves were involved in crime.

Attempts to control crime have generally involved the use of heavy-handed "crime-fighting" methods of policing involving the formation and deployment of heavily armed squads of police who have on numerous occasions been implicated in, and accused of, gross violations of citizens rights. Extra-judicial killings, death threats, beatings, torture and ill-treatment during questioning or detention by the security forces occur too frequently in Jamaica. These human rights violations have been documented in numerous reports and studies including the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Killings and the recently concluded Strategic Review of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The government has also sought to compound the issue of heavy-handed crime-fighting with the proposed legislative curtailment of rights such as arbitrary and prolonged detention, rather than actions targeted at prevention of crime, enforcement of existing laws, increasing the investigative and intelligence gathering of the police, meaningful strengthening of community policing initiatives and the upholding of the rule of law by all.

Further, in matters related to controversial incidents involving the police and citizens, 78% of the people surveyed think that the government usually believes the police version of incidents and does not listen enough to the people and the community who have witnessed the event. Evidence to support this perception lies in the failure by the government to act diligently to prevent police excesses, or to adequately investigate or punish police perpetrators. Despite decades of credible allegations, only one police officer in the last twelve years has been convicted of murder. This was later overturned on appeal. The rate of fatal shootings by the police in Jamaica, like the murder rate, is also among the highest in the world. It was averaging about 140 per annum between 1994 and 2004 but began climbing in 2005 and reached an unprecedented 272 persons in 2007. In 2009, 253 people were fatally shot by the police.

Table 1.1 - Shooting Incidents Involving Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force per the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI)

YEAR - FATALITIES
1999: 65*
2000: 149
2001: 157
2002: 154
2003: 128
2004: 131
2005: 202
2006: 229
2007: 272
2008: 222
2009: 253
TOTAL 1999-2009: 1962
* The BSI only started in the middle of 1999 and as such the figure reflected for this year may not be complete

Widespread police excesses and the weaknesses in the police accountability systems have contributed further to citizens rights abuses by the police and have resulted in public mistrust and reluctance by some Jamaicans to cooperate with the police in the face of the increasing crime rate. It is not startling then, that of the people surveyed, only 28% think that the police respect the rights of citizens while 33% would not be willing to help the police if they witnessed a serious crime being committed or would not be willing to help the police identify the people who committed the crime.

Because of, among other things, police abuses and the impunity afforded, 68% of the citizens surveyed, think that the people of Jamaica are not treated equally and fairly by the legal system because the system is biased, partial and corrupt. The belief is widespread that poor people (who are the usually the victims of police excesses) do not have the same rights to be treated fairly by the police and the courts as some other people in the society have. The lack of trust in the formal judicial system provides a threatening and insecure environment which undermines the fair delivery of justice leading to a high incidence of vigilante justice,revenge killings and dependence on informal systems of justice such as community "dons".

Defence of Human Rights: Clarifying Misconceptions
Coupled with, and helping to perpetuate, the problems of the police and the justice system is the lack of knowledge about human rights and their importance in making successful in-roads to curbing and reducing crime across the country. In the survey conducted, 35% of the participants gave no response when asked what human rights meant to them. Also, there is ambivalence towards human rights by the Jamaican authorities when on one hand, they recognize that there are problems in the operations of the security forces while on the other hand, they speak of the deaths at the hands of the police as "collateral damage".

Many other societal leaders including those living in socio-economically thriving communities believe that the police will only infringe on the rights of certain people (usually residents of socio-economically depressed communities) and the abuse of the rights by the police is justified in the interest of fighting crime. This is a dangerous notion as an abrogation of one's rights today is a threat to everyones rights tomorrow. People who are of the mindset that only certain people's rights are abrogated and the infringements of rights are necessary to fight crime are not aware that their rights too can be trampled and when it does happen to them, they adopt a different perspective.

It has been Jamaicans for Justice's belief since its inception in 1999 that EVERY citizen deserves respect, freedom and the right to enjoy a peaceful existence. As such, the organization has devoted its advocacy and education efforts towards ensuring a Jamaica where fundamental human rights of all are recognized and protected in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the international standard which all nations and peoples should observe and to which they should aspire.

The work of Jamaicans for Justice has been interpreted by some, as "criminal rights defence" as the defence of rights, especially for those who have been accused of committing crimes by the police, is perceived as the protection of the rights of criminals. According to the findings of the survey, 27% of people have an unfavourable perception of Jamaicans for Justice because they think that the organization protects and supports criminals. There is a general presumption that if one is abused by the police then one must, per se, be a criminal and if one is detained and/or charged by the police they are guilty and as such, are not deserving of being treated humanely. However, citizens, who are beaten, wrongly detained, threatened and murdered by the police are victims, and are equally deserving of protection of their rights EVEN if they have committed crimes.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and all are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the protection of the law. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. In addition, section 20 in the Jamaican Constitution affords all citizens the presumption of innocence until proven guilty before a court of law.

Also, 30% of the people surveyed perceive Jamaicans for Justice to be anti-police and that the organization only has a voice on certain issues while remaining silent on others. This speaks to the misunderstanding of role of human rights organizations. Jamaicans for Justice, like other human rights organizations worldwide, works in areas where the imbalance of power is most marked and the protection of rights most vulnerable; the place where the power of the state is used against the individual.

One would expect that the agents of the state who are charged with the defence of rights and the rule of law would need to be held to a higher standard than that of the so-called criminals. After all, the state has the primary responsibility to protect, respect, promote and fulfil human rights and is a signatory of international human rights covenants and conventions agreeing to uphold these obligations but often, is in breach of its agreements. Indeed, the failure of successive governments to enact the requisite legislation giving effect to their international obligations speaks volumes of their lack of intention to uphold these standards.

The simple explanation the organization uses is: When the gun man is breaking down your door, you call the agents of the state, the police in this case, for protection but when it is the police who are breaking down your door, who can you call?

It is in that space of power imbalance and individual vulnerability that most human rights non-governmental organizations (NGO) operate, in an attempt to even the balance and provide protection for societys vulnerable/against the all-powerful state mechanism.

Notwithstanding, Jamaicans for Justices work encompasses more than just breaches of human rights contained in abuses by the security forces but due to the droves of people coming to the organization for police excesses, it is the most recognizable activity of the organization. Like any other organization, such as the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Woman Inc., Jamaica Aids Support, Dispute Resolution Foundation, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections and the Independent Jamaican Council for Human Rights, Jamaicans for Justice has a mandate and a focus. This is usually in areas to which there has been little or no attention previously devoted.

Jamaicans for Justice conducts human rights education in schools and with the police; lobbies for the realisation of social and economic rights to improve the social services provided to citizens; ensures that citizens exercise their right to access to information from government entities; defends the rights of children in the care of the state; provides pro bono legal advice and legal representation in Coroners Courts for families of victims who have died at the hands of the state; and advocates for changes at the policy and legislative levels to improve citizens fundamental human rights.

Conclusion
As a society, we have to focus on the growth and development of our people, free of shackles of the state of mind which suggests that some are more equal than others. We also have to demand the protection of rights and insist that the government and its security forces understand the fundamental importance of individual rights in the prevention, detection and prosecution of crime.