Cops vow to take down 12 gangsters
Commissioner says they will be arrested soon
TWELVE UNNAMED gangsters are now on the police’s radar and will be placed before the court for breaches of the anti-gang legislation.
Addressing an awards banquet for justices of the peace (JPs) and lay magistrates in Montego Bay, St James on Saturday, Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson said that the move against the gangsters was part of the drive to bring violence producers to justice and remove their influence from communities across the island.
“We have seen convictions; previously we couldn’t get them. We have another one [gang related case trial] that started just last week and I have 12 [gangsters] lined up to come,” Anderson told attendees at the banquet.
“We have a large part of several gangs in custody, awaiting trial at the moment, the largest being 50 members of one gang and two gang leaders.”
According to the commissioner, the police force and other law-abiding citizens are awaiting the verdict from the first gang case in the court where 19 members are still on trial.
“You should get that verdict in March,” stated Anderson. “When you start to do that, that’s what’s going to make the difference with the organised crime, highly violent gang culture that exists.”
According to Anderson, in addition to suppressing crime, which is the primary role of the anti-gang legislation, the State also has to address the gang situation, which is driving crime and violence.
FAILED FIRST ATTEMPT
“While the first measures of the Criminal Justice, Suppression of Criminal Organisations legislation had just suppressed gang activities, we still have to go and deal with these intractable criminal organisations that are quite willing to destroy people’s life,” noted Anderson.
In their first test of the antigang legislation, the police did not reap much success. In October last year, 19 alleged members of the Westmoreland-based Dexter Street Gang walked free from the Supreme Court in Kingston, after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew the case against them, which was not well received by the then leadership of the Westmoreland police.
The so-called Dexter Street gangsters, who were first taken before the Supreme Court in 2017 on charges of being part of a criminal organisation, consisted of four women and four members of one family.