A SENIOR POLICE OFFICER DISCUSSES DEPORTEES,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 001465 SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT),INL/LP (KBROWN, NBOZZOLO) E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2014 TAGS: PGOV KCOR KCRM JM SUBJECT: A SENIOR POLICE OFFICER DISCUSSES DEPORTEES, POLICE CORRUPTION AND RECENT CRIME PROTEST REF: A. 04 KINGSTON 02867 ¶B. KINGSTON 01337 ¶C. KINGSTON 01349 Classified By: Charge Ronald S. Robinson for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) In a June 3 meeting with Poloff, the head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB),Assistant Commissioner of Police George Williams, concurred with one of the findings of an Embassy-funded study of deportees, acknowledged deep corruption within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), characterized the May 25 Private Sector Organization of Jamaica's (PSOJ) protest against crime as "nice", and said that extortion is "big business" in Jamaica. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Poloff met with the head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB),Assistant Commissioner of Police George Williams, on June 3, to discuss recent public statements he made alleging that deportees are involved in many of the crimes in Jamaica. Williams also commented on Commissioner Lucius Thomas' proclamation that there is deep corruption in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF),he asserted that the May 25 Private Sector Organization of Jamaica's (PSOJ) protest against crime was "nice", and that extortion is "big business" in Jamaica. -------------- Deportees Learned their "Trade" in Jamaica -------------- ¶3. (C) When asked to elaborate on his statement regarding deportees' involvement with crime, Williams responded that many of the deportees were either "leaders of gangs or very close to leaders before they went to the U.S." They are deported for one reason or another, and when they return they try to resume or gain control of gangs. Many deportees face resistance, which has resulted in shoot-outs over turf and control of extortion rings. (Note: Part of the Embassy's Building Bridges Program and funded with a modest public diplomacy grant, "Deported: Entry and Exit findings on Jamaicans Returned from the United States" is a study done by Dr. Bernard Headley of the University of West Indies in October, 2004, which provided an academic analysis of certain myths surrounding deportees. Although the study was not intended to ascertain the extent to which deportees impact crime in Jamaica, the study did dispel the myth that �0A;deportees go to the U.S. at a young age, become "learned" criminals and return to Jamaica where they practice their criminal skills. (Ref A) End Note.) ¶4. (C) Williams stated that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is unable to adequately monitor deportees due to a lack of resources, but he hopes that will change. Over the past two years, CIB has requested a monitoring order for approximately twenty individuals. The order, which lasts for one year, requires a deportee to inform the police of where and with whom he will live and to report to the local police station under a monthly time-frame specified by the court. Williams noted that amendments to the Fingerprint Act gives police the power to fingerprint and photograph deportees immediately upon their return to Jamaica if they were convicted of a crime in the U.S. The CIB has not utilized the fingerprint legislation since it was enacted in April, 2005, he said. If the monitoring order is breached, the deportee is subject to criminal prosecution. According to Williams, none of the deportees have breached a monitoring order. -------------- Corruption in the JCF is Nothing New -------------- ¶5. (C) On June 1, Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas told police officers at the 62nd annual Police Federation Conference that, "we have criminals among us. It is not only corporals, sergeants and inspectors, it goes all the way up." Thomas also alleged that intelligence, while insufficient to convict corrupt officers, has revealed that some officers are selling official ammunition, are involved in the illegal drug trade and share sensitive information about police operations with criminals. ¶6. (C) Williams was very frank in stating that he appreciated Thomas' remarks and acknowledged that everyone in the JCF are aware of who the corrupt officers are. I could give you a list right now of corrupt officers that would be as long as my arm", he said. Expressing frustration, Williams said there is nothing we can do without "hard-core evidence to convict." It is the lack of evidence that has prevented the conviction of corrupt cops. -------------- Extortion and the PSOJ -------------- ¶7. (C) When asked to comment on the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica's (PSOJ) May 25 crime protest (Ref B),Williams stated that he shares the same view as many other Jamaicans that the PSOJ crime protest and business lockdown was a good gesture but that nothing will come of it. He described extortion as "big business" being conducted by gangs and endorsed at every level in the business sector and is not being reported. Williams stated that he had personally reached out to the business sector to get details on the perpetrators; however, the business sector declined to cooperate and he did not understand why. When Poloff suggested that it was due to the widespread perception that corrupt policemen are involved in extortion, Williams acknowledged that this is a possibility in some inner-city areas, but that it is definitely not widespread. ¶8. (C) According to Williams, criminals use funds from extortion to purchase high-powered weapons. The weapons are then used in various forms of criminality including taking the lives of police and ordinary citizens. In what he sees as collaboration from the business sector, Williams stated that some businesses "actually choose to pay freely", thus they encourage it. So while the PSOJ's protest is "nice", Williams lamented that it is unfortunate that CIB does not have firm evidence to prosecute extortionists as there are no witnesses from the business sector willing to come forward and testify. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) The perception that deportees are the cause of an overwhelmingly large amount of crime in Jamaica will continue as long as Jamaica continues to struggle with an escalating crime rate and an inability to deal with it. The GOJ's insistence that deportees from the U.S., UK, and to a lesser extent Canada, are major causes of its crime problem, comfortingly implies that other countries bear responsibility for the crime rate in Jamaica. ¶10. (C) Corruption and extortion often go hand-in-hand in Jamaica where private citizens do not know whom to trust and the authorities have not shown the ability to address the problem. Thomas' announcement was greeted with support from the government, opposition and the private sector; however, the JCF has a long and hard battle to rid its organization of corruption and the stigma that has been attached to it. ROBINSON