Sweeping powers for Jamaica police and military are 'ripe for abuse', activists say
Human rights activists have condemned sweeping new anti-crime legislation in Jamaica which grants police and troops the power to stop, search and detain citizens without a warrant in designated areas.
Until the end of October, citizens in the community of Mount Salem in Montego Bay will be liable to random searches or detention without a warrant, and will be obliged to present ID in order to leave or enter the area after it was named a Zone of Special Operations (Zoso) last month.
Jamaican authorities say that the move has led to a number of arrests and helped reduce violence in the area, a community of 3,500, which is reportedly home to 12 streets gangs.
But Aisling Reidy, senior legal adviser for Human Rights Watch, said that the legislation was “ripe for abuse”.
“The introduction of legislation like this into any country, creating a situation of extraordinary policing powers to be exercised by the military, should give serious ground for concern because without proper oversight and remedies these are the sort of powers that are ripe for abuse,” she said .
Reidy said the legislation grants broad powers that could scapegoat entire communities. “On the face of it, it allows law enforcement to cast far too wide a net. In practical terms, this may well prove counterproductive, because it tends to alienate the very people in communities you want cooperation and information from,” she said.
Jamaican human rights activist Lloyd D’Aguilar said that women, schoolchildren and the elderly were regularly being searched by police.
“There have been egregious breaches of civil liberties in the way the Zones of Special Operations have been rolled out,” he said.
Sharon Davis, 46, the president of a local development committee in Mount Salem, said she was no longer kept awake by gunfire, but the soldiers themselves could be intimidating.
“To be honest, I was feeling scared. I’m not used to seeing so many soldiers and police. Some of them are OK, but some of them deal with decent citizens like they are criminals.”
Jamaica’s security forces have repeatedly been accused of excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings, and have come under growing pressure to improve their record since 2010 when 73 civilians were killed during the manhunt for a convicted drug dealer named Christopher “Dudus” Coke.
But the island has long struggled with one of the highest murder rates in the world. Police statistics show that from 1 January to 16 September 1,125 people were murdered – a 26% increase over the same period in the previous year.
In a 12 September address to parliament, the prime minister, Andrew Holness, described the Zoso measures as an attempt to rein in rampant lawbreaking.
“Criminals operate freely in these communities, taking life, taking your daughters, taking property, and extorting tax to protect you from them,” he said.
The Zoso legislation targets “high volume criminals” – gunmen, gangsters and lottery scammers, (fraudsters who often target elderly Americans, telling them they must send money in order to claim a fictitious prize).
Basil Jarrett, a spokesman for the Jamaica Defence Force, said that other areas in Jamaica could be designated Zosos. “There are numerous areas across the island that would qualify. Our soldiers are assessing the conditions,” he said.
In addition to the law enforcement element, the legislation includes a social intervention component, with government representatives providing opportunities to register for official documents and employment training.