48.4% COVID-positivity rate; 769 new cases, one death | Loop Jamaica

At the same time, Jamaica's positivity rate has risen to nearly 50 per cent based ... Montego Bay mayor condemns murder of municipal cop and uncle.

source https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/484-covid-positivity-rate-769-new-cases-one-death

Soaring into 2022 - Jamaica Observer

Captain Toray Bailey flying the Jamaican flag high. ... encounter with aeroplanes at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James.

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/front-page/soaring-into-2022_240467?profile=1606

New Year finds woman charged with fatal stabbing of 66-y-o man | Loop Jamaica

Bull Bay woman charged with murder of rival in 'love triangle saga' ... Montego Bay mayor condemns murder of municipal cop and uncle.

source https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/new-year-finds-woman-charged-fatal-stabbing-66-y-o-man

Montego Bay mayor condemns murder of municipal cop and uncle | Loop Jamaica

Montego Bay Mayor and Chairman of the St James Municipal Corporation (SJMC), Leeroy Williams, has condemned the brutal killing of 34-year-old ...

source https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/montego-bay-mayor-condemns-murder-municipal-cop-and-uncle

Three vendors short-listed for Jamaica's first tourist insurance programme

MONTEGO BAY, St James — The selection of a provider of medical insurance for visito...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/three-vendors-short-listed-for-jamaica-s-first-tourist-insurance-programme_240281?profile=1373

COVID-19 self-test kits to be available commercially, once approved - Jamaica Observer

... home-testing kits were handed over to the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James yesterday.

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/covid-19-self-test-kits-to-be-available-commercially-once-approved_240282

12 local coaches undergo Concacaf C License training - Jamaica Observer

... Phillip Williams (Tivoli Gardens), Marlon Hylton (JFF Technical Committee), Andrew Sewell (Waterhouse) and Marvin Tate (Montego Bay).

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/12_local_coaches_undergo_Concacaf_C_License_training?profile=1228

BLOODY FINALE | Lead Stories | Jamaica Gleaner

... Evans was driving a Toyota motor car from the direction of John's Hall towards Montego Bay, with Stewart in the front passenger seat.

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20220101/bloody-finale

Hotel Grand-A-View reopens - Jamaica Observer

Just in time for the holidays, Hotel Grand-A-View in Montego Bay, St James, reopened its doors to guests on Monday, December 20, 2021 with a ...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-report/hotel-grand-a-view-reopens_240201

Warning issued against celebratory gun salutes | News | Jamaica Star

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is warning persons to desist from carrying out ... Security guard shot and killed robber in Montego Bay bank.

source https://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20211231/warning-issued-against-celebratory-gun-salutes

Editorial | Keep COVID-19 data transparent | Commentary | Jamaica Gleaner

Visitors arrive at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, on December 15, the beginning of the winter tourist season.

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20211231/editorial-keep-covid-19-data-transparent

CDC advisory against cruise travel will be short-lived, ignored, tourism officials predict

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Local tourism players yesterday said the ... Only this month Jamaica saw a return of cruise ships at all five ports of ...

source https://amp.jamaicaobserver.com/news/cdc-advisory-against-cruise-travel-will-be-short-lived-ignored-tourism-officials-predict_240278

Jamaica Honours Tourism Workers Serving 50+ Years at Golden Tourism Awards

Jamaica's Ministry of Tourism and Jamaica Tourist Board recognized ... The name 'Jimmy James' Wright was synonymous with one of Montego Bay's top ...

source https://sflcn.com/jamaica-honours-tourism-workers-serving-50-years-at-golden-tourism-awards/

CDC advisory against cruise travel will be short-lived, ignored, tourism officials predict

Only this month Jamaica saw a return of cruise ships at all five ports of call when Montego Bay received the Carnival Glory, ending a long drought ...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/cdc-advisory-against-cruise-travel-will-be-short-lived-ignored-tourism-officials-predict_240278?profile=1754

Jamaican Clothing Designer, Delawness Debuts New Project - South Florida Caribbean News

Introspeq, his debut project, launched one year ago in his hometown of Montego Bay. While in the UK, he noticed how Britons soaked up the summer ...

source https://sflcn.com/jamaican-clothing-designer-delawness-debuts-new-project/

'Gifts for the Givers' - Jamaica Observer

The Doctor's Cave Bathing Club in Montego Bay, St James ,used the Christmas season to honour all the nurses at the Cornwall Regional Hospital ...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/-gifts-for-the-givers-doctor-s-cave-bathing_240114?profile=1373

Serial robber killed during attempted bank heist | News | Jamaica Star

Several business operators in downtown Montego Bay believe that the man who was fatally shot while trying to rob the Scotiabank outlet in Sam ...

source http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20211230/serial-robber-killed-during-attempted-bank-heist

MoBay Metro workers strike after non-payment of salaries | News | Jamaica Star

Hundreds of commuters who use the Montego Bay Metro buses were left stranded yesterday morning after disgruntled drivers and conductors employed ...

source http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20211230/mobay-metro-workers-strike-after-non-payment-salaries

The 10 Best Caribbean Beach Towns to Visit in 2022

Negril, Jamaica You feel it the moment you cross the “border” on the ... Cruz Bay, St John The port of entry to St John is a colorful, lively, ...

source https://www.caribjournal.com/2021/12/29/the-10-best-caribbean-beach-towns-to-visit-in-2022/

MoBay Metro workers slam brakes on service over non-payment of salaries - Jamaica Gleaner

HUNDREDS OF commuters who travel via the Montego Bay Metro bus service were left stranded yesterday morning after disgruntled drivers and ...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20211230/mobay-metro-workers-slam-brakes-service-over-non-payment-salaries

'It was like a movie' | Lead Stories | Jamaica Gleaner

INVESTIGATORS IN Montego Bay, St James, are trying to determine if the unidentified male who was fatally shot yesterday morning while attempting ...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20211230/it-was-movie

Man shot and killed at Scotiabank Sam Sharpe Square | News | Jamaica Gleaner

A man who attempted to carry out an early morning robbery inside the Scotiabank located at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, St James was shot and ...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20211229/man-shot-and-killed-scotiabank-sam-sharpe-square

US-based J'cans donate COVID-19 equipment to CRH | News | Jamaica Gleaner

... to Serena Holder-Campbell, client services manager at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, on Friday, November 26.

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20211229/us-based-jcans-donate-covid-19-equipment-crh

Best of 2021: The biggest stories of the year - Jamaica Observer

Jamaicans are still trying to come to grips with how two members of the Montego Bay-based organisation were stabbed and slashed to death, ...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Best_of_2021:_The_biggest_stories_of_the_year

Celebrate 'LOUD'-ly - Jamaica Observer

Locations: Shop #5 & 17 Bargain Mail, Clock Tower Plaza; Shop #4, 4 DaCosta Drive, Ocho Rios; Shop #21 Centre Point Plaza, Montego Bay. CREDITS.

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/tuesday-style-fashion/_239392

Reviving carolling, a dying Christmas tradition | Lead Stories | Jamaica Gleaner

WESTERN BUREAU: At 5 a.m., the Rose Mount Gardens community in Montego Bay was quiet, pitch dark, and distinctive. The only evidence of life was ...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20211228/reviving-carolling-dying-christmas-tradition

ISSA hopes to complete football season despite threat of increased COVID cases - Jamaica Observer

MONTEGO BAY, St James — There are concerns that the expected fourth wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic could affect the end of the ...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/issa-hopes-to-complete-football-season-despite-threat-of-increased-covid-cases_239881?profile=1511

JetBlue Is Adding More Flights to Jamaica - Caribbean Journal

... F Kennedy International Airport to Kingston, along with up to four daily nonstop flights from JFK to Jamaica's tourism hub of Montego Bay.

source https://www.caribjournal.com/2021/12/27/jamaica-jetblue-more-flights-summer-2022/

Inside The Hidden Jamaican Resort And Music Studio Adorned By Drake And Alicia Keys - Essence

While many traveler's often debate between a getaway to Montego Bay or Negril, insider's know the real magic is in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

source https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/geejam-hidden-jamaican-resort-music-studio/

Health workers honoured by MoBay business community | Lead Stories | Jamaica Gleaner

... recognised as 'Heroes' on the COVID-19 ward at the Cornwall Regional Hospital were honoured by the Montego Bay business community last...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20211227/health-workers-honoured-mobay-business-community

Smart cities to boost crime fighting | Lead Stories | Jamaica Gleaner

Jamaica's runaway crime rate has served as impetus for the full transformation of ... downtown Kingston, and Montego Bay in the long haul.

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20211227/smart-cities-boost-crime-fighting

Resilient corridor in Jamaica allows visitors to be in a safe bubble: Edmund Bartlett, Minister ...

Travellers, take note: Jamaica gears up with a robust tourism strategy to woo more visitors! Tourism, as a catalyst for sustainable and inclusive ...

source https://globalcirculate.com/resilient-corridor-in-jamaica-allows-visitors-to-be-in-a-safe-bubble-edmund-bartlett-minister-of-tourism-of-jamaica/

11 Must-Visit Adults-Only Hotels in the Caribbean

Catch a Falling Star, Jamaica. Set on the cliffs of Negril, this small resort has both ... Montego Bay, Jamaica Sets Pandemic Tourism Record.

source https://www.caribjournal.com/2021/12/25/11-must-visit-adults-only-hotels-in-the-caribbean/

Illegal gun seized in St James, man charged | News | Jamaica Gleaner

Twenty-six-year-old Christopher Fuller of Love Lane, Montego Bay, St James has been charged with illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20211225/illegal-gun-seized-st-james-man-charged

Sharpe makes history as first Jamaican cyclist to sign with a European team - SportsMax

The communities of Paradise and Norwood, in Montego Bay, experienced some Christmas cheer as the destinations for Jamaican sprinter Briana Williams' ...

source https://www.sportsmax.tv/other-sports/column3/cycling/item/92404-jamaican-cyclist-sharpe-makes-history-as-first-to-sign-contract-with-european-team

New Fortress puts smiles on children's faces with gifts of toys - Jamaica Observer

More than 800 children in Montego Bay are experiencing a brighter Christmas after receiving toys from New Fortress Energy (NFE).

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/new-fortress-puts-smiles-on-children-s-faces-with-gifts-of-toys_239827

CCTV for Harmony Beach Park in St James | News | Jamaica Gleaner

Western Regional Manager at the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Omar Simpson has indicated that the Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, ...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20211225/cctv-harmony-beach-park-st-james

Expansion work to commence on Sangster Int'l Airport - Jamaica Observer

ST JAMES, Jamaica— Expansion work is to get underway at the Sangster International Airport (SIA) situated in Montego Bay to better facilitate the ...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Expansion_work_to_commence_on_Sangster_Intl_Airport

The 10 Best Snorkeling Destinations in the Caribbean

Montego Bay, Jamaica Sets Pandemic Tourism Record · Americans Flocking to Jamaica, Aruba for Holidays · Rum Journal: Karl Malone's New Rum From ...

source https://www.caribjournal.com/2021/12/24/caribbean-snorkeling-best-destinations/

Jamaica Tourism Minister Bartlett Lauds New Sandals Investment - News AKMI

Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for High Grove Village, which was officially opened at Sandals Royal Caribbean, Montego Bay, yesterday ( ...

source https://newsakmi.com/travel-news/jamaica-tourism-minister-bartlett-lauds-new-sandals-investment/

Need for speed - Jamaica Observer

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Olympic Games relay gold medallist Briana Williams is bidin...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/sprinter-briana-williams-vows-fast-2022_239777?profile=1511

Bartlett Makes Impassioned Plea To Protect Jamaica's Tourism - South Florida Caribbean News

[MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica] – Against the background of tourism being the backbone of the recovering Jamaican economy, Minister of Tourism, Hon.

source https://sflcn.com/bartlett-makes-impassioned-plea-to-protect-jamaica-tourism/

Jamaica downgraded to Level 2 by CDC | New York Carib News

Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism for Jamaica said, “This is a very positive sign for ... The below-listed areas of Montego Bay due to crime.

source https://www.nycaribnews.com/articles/jamaica-downgraded-to-level-2-by-cdc/

Bartlett Makes Impassioned Plea To Protect Tourism - eTurboNews | Trends | Travel News

Jamaica Breaking News - eTurboNews | Trends | Travel News. ... function for workers at Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport (SIA), ...

source https://eturbonews.com/3012584/bartlett-makes-impassioned-plea-to-protect-tourism/

Boozy Bartender Stories @ The Jamaica Pegasus

Dewayne Omar Barnett was born and raised in Bull Bay, St Andrew. ... me to enter the Taste of Jamaica competition in Montego Bay,” he continued.

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/thursday-life-wine/boozy-bartender-stories-the-jamaica-pegasus_236558?profile=1237

Thank you for the life lessons, Merrick Needham - Jamaica Observer

My mother was seconded from her government job, and it required her being relocated to Montego Bay for about five weeks.

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/opinion/thank-you-for-the-life-lessons-merrick-needham_239635

Something Extra | Thursday | Lifestyle | Jamaica Gleaner

Bryce took that 'Bar' a little further and hosted a number of friends and relatives at an intimate poolside affair in Montego Freeport, Montego Bay, ...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lifestyle/20211223/something-extra-thursday

Jamaica—Best all-inclusives for families - New York Amsterdam News

Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Montego Bay. The 18th century Rose Hall tropical estate is straight out of the movies, a drop-dead gorgeous ...

source https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2021/12/23/jamaica-best-all-inclusives-for-families/

Tourist arrival in Jamaica increase as festive season approaches - Associates Times

Since Friday, December 17, more than 159 flights have landed at Montego Bay, with a total of about 25,000 stopover arrivals into the tourism ...

source https://associatestimes.com/tourist-arrival-in-jamaica-increase-as-festive-season-approaches/

Bartlett makes plea to protect tourism - Jamaica Observer

ST JAMES, Jamaica— As the tourism industry strengthens its resilience ag. ... for workers at Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport (SIA), ...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Bartlett_makes_plea_to_protect_tourism

Seven things about Jamaica's swimming sensation Alia Atkinson

Jamaica's most decorated swimmer, Alia Atkinson, retired from ... She was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica but moved permanently to the United States ...

source https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/seven-things-about-jamaicas-swimming-sensation-alia-atkinson

Elmira's Holiday Inn Riverview now a Clarion Inn - YouTube

Montego Bay Jamaica! Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort. Isaiah Marrero. Isaiah Marrero. •. 2.1K views 5 years ago · A Tour of The Hyatt Regency Grand ...

source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y99wv7sK6E

Bonaire Just Updated Its Entry Requirements for Travelers - Caribbean Journal

Americans Flocking to Jamaica, Aruba for Holidays · Montego Bay, Jamaica Sets Pandemic Tourism Record. 0 Comments. Sort by. Newest, Oldest.

source https://www.caribjournal.com/2021/12/21/bonaire-entry-requirement-travelers-updated/

Clarendon College formalise place in semis with 3-1 win - Jamaica Observer

... quarter-final group four game at Green Pond in Montego Bay. Buckley had levelled the scores for Cornwall College but Manchester High won 2-1.

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/clarendon-college-formalise-place-in-semis-with-3-1-win-manchester-edge-cornwall-college-2-1_239570?profile=1511

Smith laments MoBay's decline, yearns for better days | News | Jamaica Gleaner

WESTERN BUREAU: With informal vendors, unruly taxi operators, pickpockets, and prostitutes all contributing to the disorder plaguing Montego Bay, ...

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20211222/smith-laments-mobays-decline-yearns-better-days

Jamaica Tourism Minister Welcomes Brazilian and Colombian Ambassadors - YouTube

Jamaica Tourism Minister Welcomes Brazilian and Colombian AmbassadorsClick below to read or listen to more ... Jamaica Montego Bay Sandals Part 1.

source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCHfO78e2tE

Jamaica Sees Increase in Tourist Arrivals Ahead of Christmas - Caribbean National Weekly

“Since Friday, December 17, we have had over 159 flights into Montego Bay alone, putting stopover arrivals into the tourism capital at about ...

source https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/jamaica-sees-increase-in-tourist-arrivals-ahead-of-christmas/

Pure Jamaican, Through Its Pharmaceutical Division Seven-10, Announces the Acquisition ...

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, Dec. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pure Jamaican Group of Companies (Pure Jamaican), is proud to announce the acquisition of ...

source https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pure-jamaican-through-its-pharmaceutical-division-seven-10-announces-the-acquisition-of-the-production-and-cultivation-assets-of-timeless-herbal-care-the-first-company-to-achieve-gmp-certification-for-medical-cannabis-productio-301449204.html

Last semi-final spot up for grabs in daCosta Cup | Sports | Jamaica Gleaner

... that has not won any of their two games in this round as Montego Bay-based Cornwall boast a plus four-goal difference to their plus three.

source https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20211221/last-semi-final-spot-grabs-dacosta-cup

WPM targets illegal dump sites - Jamaica Observer

MONTEGO BAY, St James — After receiving countless reports of illegal dump sites, We...

source https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/wpm-targets-illegal-dump-sites_239319

Desiree Gibbon Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her? - The Cinemaholic

For young Desiree Gibbon, a trip to Jamaica from Queens, New York, ... adding, “I know there are people in Montego Bay (Jamaica) that know what ...

source https://thecinemaholic.com/desiree-gibbon-murder-how-did-she-die-who-killed-her/

SOE WHAT? Mitigating Jamaican Crime

 

“Police inevitably become corrupt... Police always observe that criminals prosper. It takes a pretty dull policeman to miss the fact that the position of authority is the most prosperous criminal position available.”
― Frank Herbert, God Emperor of Dune

The Jamaican Constabulary Force (#JCF) is the main law enforcement agency in Jamaica. They are responsible for the country-wide #crime investigation and management, they are creatures of statute and as the government's legal arm of violence, beholden to the Ministry of National Security which is presided over my M.P. Dr. Horace Chang. JCF is an agency of government that enforces the law of the land. They also furbish the government with revenues, amounting to millions of dollars every year through court fines and seizure of assets. Despite this, they are treated with scant regard and rewarded with inadequate remuneration for their service. Crime in Jamaica is a serious and complex issue. Massive amounts of money and manpower are spent on reducing and preventing crime on a daily basis. Yet the Jamaican police have been a less than successful institution in helping to reduce crime rates significantly over time. Why?

Well... if I am to surmise and summarize the current state of the nation, our government does not listen to stakeholders, the citizenry and even the police.

Is the State of Emergency a Crime Plan?

THE STATE OF EMERGENCY is not a CRIME PLAN. That is this humble writer's opinion and I am sure it is the opinion of an overworked police force. It is a political device that combines two philosophically different organizations into a haphazard patchwork  where they trip over each other and pose unforeseen hiccups in judicial and legal procedure. The military is a defense focused organization that though trained for combat, is not trained to combat civilians, not familiar with civil law or mechanics of criminal law and procedure. But most crucially, from a tactical perspective Jamaica Defense Force, is not geared towards active pursuit of criminals but are geared towards "holding the fort", defending and usually with less regard to civilian law. The JCF is an ever evolving creature whose tactics have to constantly adapt to the shifting and morphing nature of crime, while diligently tiptoeing around the law or doing acrobatics and contortions within the confines of legality.

If the SOE had worked last year our government wouldn't be griping about the opposition's opposition to the S.O.E. now. And most definitely the government wouldn’t need to be having one now. Three years ago February at the near beginning of our Emergency State, I stated that I believed that we need better policing and forensics as no long-term improvements were achieved by 3 years of SOEs, violent crime still plagues our nation. The #SOE is just a drastic short-term emergency response, not a sustainable strategy to reduce crime. There have been no measures accompanying the SOE geared at turning around Jamaica’s crime problem. Social intervention is handled like n a flash in the pan or a momentary public relations stunt rather than a sustained effort.

During recent salary negotiations the Government offered the JCF a four per cent increase on their measly salary and expects them to function at full throttle for another SOE. This situation is unreasonable and untenable, and the Government needs to rethink its strategy or risk losing members, which they can least afford at this time. When speaking to a police friend of mine, he complained bitterly that this has been a sticking point from the day when Bruce Golding said he wouldn’t give them one red cent more! The problems pestering the police force, such as poor working conditions, remuneration, among others, did not happen overnight. Successive governments from either of the two political parties have had to deal with these issues and none have adequately addressed the concerns of the members.

SOE What Now?

When the first SOE was declared in January 2018, murder tallies would reach 1,287 that year. It increased to 1,339 in 2019 and then slightly decreased in 2020 to 1,323. So even Stevie Wonder and Bredda Bull can see that SOE is not the answer as criminals continue to impact the economy and productive segment of society. And now... people have to sit in miserable conditions in hospitals and through curfews and COVID restriction, only to have their rights further stripped away. 

What we are getting wrong, is that we have tried it all... already. What is said of someone who does the same thing expecting different results? They are mad. Are our heads of state collectively mad? Furthermore what seems dim witted in these desperate plans we keep repeating is that it pretends crime in Jamaica is simply a problem of a limited number of criminals holding us all for ransom. So if we lock away or execute enough of the criminals the crime will stop or at least be reduced. Such analysis never considers the larger truth that the number of criminals is not finite at all, and that there are structures in Jamaica that produce and encourage criminality. As Sir P of PolitricksWatch likes to put it, Jamaica has a conveyor belt the spits out criminals. And worse, what if these criminals do not fear death or dying? What if they’ve always accepted that as an inevitability? What would have been your point in trying to drive ‘fear’ into their hearts then? Are we adopting the concepts of comic book characters like Batman and Daredevil, who operate on an ethic rooted in fear?

The other day I was reasoning with a breddrin, fellow Cornwallian from Granville. Bobo… and he gave me some profound insight. He had been reasoning with a juvenile from Granville who had been detained during the state of emergency, and he recalled the youth who had been innocent to the inner workings of crime, was now telling him how being locked up had let him meet a whole lot of real criminals in jail and had become “linkees” or “chargees” and “parries”as it were. SO not only did the state of emergency not work and failed to address the root causes of crime… it afforded crime some rest time to foment and ferment, crime got to network to think! Worst of all, by grouping members of the same demographic ages 14 to around 28 from diverse walks of life, allowing them to meet and greet with crime, up close and personal. The monstrous octopus now has tentacles outside and inside the cell, spawning splint cells, who are now possibly some sort of agent of crime. For after the rights of the youth have been trampled long enough, they are eventually let out of jail due to no real evidence there to hold them; they then return to their communities demoralized, disenchanted, disrespected and disenfranchised.

Labourites and those happy for the SOE... applaud the locking away of innocent young men from “those places” in despicable conditions for long periods as a necessary evil. Of course that’s fine, after all, REMEMBER... it’s not OUR sons, brothers or friends. And if that act makes the youths mistrust the Police and later become criminals, then it’s no one’s fault; they would have become that way anyway.

Our history of bad-man policing goes all the way back to Batman & Robin, to Joe Williams, to Laing, to Bigga Fords, to Trinity, to Adams; and our history of strong handed policing has included Echo Squad (1976), Ranger Squad (1980), Eradication Squad (1980), Area Four Task Force (1986), Operation Ardent (1992), ACID (1993), Operation Justice (1995), Operation Dovetail (1997), Operation Intrepid (1999), Operation Kingfish (2004). With all these bad men police and all these heavy handed operations, our crime rate has never fallen significantly, or never stayed fallen.

In recent times, more municipalities across the world have been choosing to place greater emphasis on police-community partnerships and the co-production of safety, which necessitates a strong focus on equity, transparency, accountability, shared information, and changes in how police are trained, evaluated and promoted. Local policing however, is rarely regulated in the same way or under any real scrutiny. Local police have wide discretion to implement various policing tactics without seeking written permissions or public input or following officially-adopted protocol. Essentially, the local police in Jamaica are entrusted to maintain public safety by enforcing laws broadly and by statute at their discretion, but there is no imperative or incentive to employ community policing individually as a tactic or broadly as institution wide mandate.

A local police Superintendent or the Commissioner, for example, may institute a zero-tolerance “tough on crime” approach to policing, or, conversely, a community-oriented “boots on the ground, feet on the beat” strategy to leverage the power of residents to fight crime. How the police operate is mostly at he behest of the heads of the institution or at their own discretion. The ‘zero tolerance’ and ‘tough on crime’ measures are in my eyes and I suspect much of the public, is a total failures. “They’ve created a symbolic criminal law system, a criminal law system that tricks citizens into thinking that with strong penalties we
solve the problem or even deter criminals.

The law enforcement officers, "Babylon" as they are known in the street... have been the face of oppression for far too many years, and now that link is embedded in the minds of fellow citizens. In the past, the laws adopted by our society have required police officers to perform many unpalatable tasks, such as ensuring legalized discrimination and ‘classism’ or even denying the basic human rights to many fellow Jamaicans as was the will of our governments. The government need to give the police force a listening ear or court a situation where the entire nation and the police force is opposed to the government of the day, which could precipitate social upheaval or even coups. If indeed the Government had the JCF as a priority, it should not be the case that force's members have to purchase their own uniforms and work under poor conditions for long hours without reasonable remuneration.

As a citizen, journalist and communicator I see the mistrust between many communities and the police and then the growing gap between the government and the police. On speaking with an officer, I realized there is so much about the logistics of policing and its daily operations that aren’t optimized, streamlined or efficient, that it is clear a real operational appraisal needs to take place in the force, then the government needs to come to that table and be forcefully updated.

There are gaps to bridge and connect within many segments of our communities and society. The first step to bridging the gap is for the police to acknowledge and apologize for the actions of the past and the role that their institution has played in our society’s historical mistreatment of poorer communities. After that is the ironing out internal procedures, modus operandi and ethos. Enforcement is part of the core of true policing, however harm reduction, sustaining healthy communities and working with youth lie at the heart of the true task of policing. We, both the public and police must seek to co-produce safety within the community and eventually the nation.

We fear speaking up against injustices and abrogation of powers, especially those that are unleashed by States of Emergency and now the Disaster Risk Management Act (#DRMA) even though these things are wrong. Instead we say "it will all work out”; as if by some magical means the right result will occur. We continue to believe change is “just around the corner” and so plan for a country with less crime. This vain plan is based on the strategy of hope, bereft of a detailed needs analysis and a solid plan of action. We “know” that the next leader from the other party (or maybe even from the same party) will be different and will be the one to “save us”. We continue to wait on the messiah, like waiting for Godot. Yet what type of leaders do we keep getting and our political parties keep producing.

Well... Jamaica's political parties have a well documented history of gang/individual gangster alignment & of patronage and enforcers giving rise to the earliest armed gangs. 

• Spanglers - PNP connection
• Shower Posse - JLP connection
• Clans - PNP connection
• One Order - JLP connection…
  

So from bad man policing to bad man linking with politicians, you realize the badness “tun up” in Jamaica. We fully bad as they say in the streets and this maybe at the crux of our problem a culture of badness and badmindedness.

A badness so pervasive that our political leaders are in wikileaked documents on corruption lists and have revoked visas etc. It is this tyrannical, bully mind and bad mind that cannot fathom real social intervention and will make no time for it and won’t have any gusto to give social intervention a thrust and some umph! However if there is no economic aid that truly benefits communities… crime will continue mutating in brooding and breeding ground of badness and badmind. The youth are seeking out new routes to financial power. Some have begun to become mini militias willing to do the Ocean’s 11 style money heists or act out a Jamaican Netflix series. 

So after all this legal violence and brute force… with little or no social intervention what comes next… what will fill the current socio-economic void? For the economy is tightening again and that is why we see more and more radical robberies and killings. Let us not pretend the issues aren't real… time to stop acting like Jamaica is a happy camp. The government needs to fix our access to the economy and fix the education system or the rebellions will occur and crime will continue to fester and one day the mob will be at Fort Holness with stakes and pitchforks. The maddening crowd, feverish and sickened by the festering badness that is Jamaica’s true epidemic.

What is necessary now is an "Agreement for the Democratic Security". My greatest concern is the decomposition of the political forces, the increase in institutional violence and desperate resorting to SOEs endlessly, the increase of bad police practices, corruption expressed through acts like collecting money, or freed zones or spaces politicians turn a blind eye to that allow the committing of crimes and many other expressions of crime. We must create a new social paradigm and ethos which is to have a more wide-open approach to solving security problems that is not focused solely on the criminal law functions of police, courts, penitentiaries, and law enforcement, which usually play an active role after the fact and event. We need instead to work on the origins, causes, and the whole aetiology of violence in our nation.

All of these activities unavoidably deal with human nature, with individual victims and their families and communities, with deeply-rooted power structures, with vested interests, with anger, frustration, mistrust, disappointment, and fear. Change will require new data, but also new levels of empathy. To bring all the stakeholders (local politicians, the citizenry and police) together and balance their interests in a process of democratic engagement will not be a simple task. The right questions have to be asked about the means and ends of policing. Are any means justifiable to reduce crime? What are the costs and benefits of
different policing tactics? With evidence-based answers, legislation can guide the design of policing processes and set the parameters for rules. Rules and protocol can then be established to guide the administration of police departments. Meaningful public involvement throughout the process can provide legitimacy for new and revised policies, laws, and actions. Furthermore, this may allow us to generate a model of community policing, which is a model of police organization that goes beyond the needs of a political regime. This model goes directly to fulfill the needs of citizens. I rest my case.

About the author: Yannick Nesta Pessoa B.A. is Jamaica’s first blogger, a Social Advocate, Community Activist and Legal Student.  Follow on Twitter & Instagram @yahnyk. Follow on Youtube @ and Reply to yannickpessoa@gmail.com

 

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Swizz Bankz: The Currency of Life

“… Throw your soul through every open door, Count your blessings to find what you look for, Turned my sorrow into treasured gold”
~Adele: Rolling in the Deep

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”
~Elbert Hubbard

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. That is one of the truest gems of wisdom I have had guide me in life… it came from a song called wear Sunscreen by Baz Luhrman. It prepared me for life by succinctly defining the unpredictable nature and operations of this universe. It would prepare for the many unpredictable and unforeseeable events I would bear witness to. Like when my friend Swizz Bankz passed me on the way to pick breadfruit, I had no idea that by the time I went inside to scroll YouTube for another tutorial on writing  novels and short stories to watch, that when my electricity went and I heard the transformer blow, that it was Swizz Bankz that was electrocuted after his picking stick made contact with a light wire. I went from being most annoyed to most distressed when I stepped outside to see people scampering off to see what had happened only to hear “Jah know the man just leff yasso go pick breadfruit and fry out star!” And so like the song… on some idle Wednesday, it wasn’t a Tuesday real trouble that never crossed Swizz Bankz’s worried mind, blindsided him and the community.

The thing is I can’t absolutely say it didn’t cross my troubled mind. Now bare with me as I explore some kind of metaphysics hear. For a few weeks now, I have been having “recurrent” conversations on Electrocution and shock. The first being on a friend, Mike, in the community who died from electricity in a breadfruit tree only a few hours before his departure for England. Then there was Seba Dog, who we were discussing his electrocution in a tree, and I was saying to him how lucky he was that day, as I was on spot and had no idea what to do. Fortunately his son had been there to rescue him. Finally there was my name sake a breddrin named Yannick, more popularly known as Bolo, he died a year or two back in a breadfruit tree in Hanover, he came to mind and then coincidentally I saw his brother, whom I didn’t know but the resemblance was uncanny. Finally is Trevor a Far-i elder of mine, whenever he sees me his hailing style is to touch fist and shake his hand like electricity is passing between us and say CURRENT. So imagine all this metaphysics and coincidence as I examine the currency of life. The flow of energy.

Who is Swizz Bankz and how this relates to Swizz Bankz? Well he is an artiste, a solopreneur, came to Paradise a few years ago and managed to fit in well. Some poeple come to a community and make mischief, that wasn’t Bankz. He was all about trying to make music and money. When he first arrived he used to sell Cash for Gold in front of Stanley’s Patty and fund his career. He is someone I see often, at one point he and a cabal of young trying artistes used to be at my gate late into the night to shooting the breeze. As of late he had been on the front of my mind for some days now as he was always nextdoor posting to his social media pages, and trying to make money on pay per click ads etc. He had resigned from Cash for Gold after being stabbed downtown. But financially he was on shaky times. So naturally as a community minded person, I hate to see trying people struggle. So as is always I would scour my mind for opportunities I may have seen that would be up his alley. But as things are with the state of emergency, the general economy of the community has slowed down, and the more vulnerable in the community suffer for it. Aid, benefits, hand outs, odd jobs, gigs, work, activity… everything is lessened and diminished.

Hence now I am living what I having been warning the government about. The security intervention has slowed the economic life of the community and without the necessary social or socio-economic intervention to offset this labour intensive security operation that seems endless and will only cost the same taxpayers who suffer in the communities, suffer economically and socially. The SOE may have cut crime, but it has also served to exacerbate so many other social pressures. So if I must connect the dots for you. Financial Pressure dot Swizz Bankz dot Breadfruit Tree dot Electrocution dot “Pop dung hospital” CRH dot Amputation dot dot dot dot dot dot… get it!

So now forgive my anger and frustration with government when after months the community has not had a 6-a-Side competition, Swizz Bankz and some progressive minded youth were planning a 6-a-Side competition for August 11, I was helping them make the link with the Paradise CDC, to use the Pond up by Supreme Prep etc. and general event planning. So from within the community there is attempt to resuscitate economic life, yet, the efforts to match us on the part of government is found failing and wanting. Is this not an indictment? Now that tragedy is here, how much help can Swizz Bankz count on from the government?

Swizz Bankz to you in the meantime, here is my advice:

• Cultivate positive friendships
• Stay physically active when you can
• Use humor to lighten the mood (it’s also great medicine)
• Lean on your spirituality
• Practice meditation
• Escape reality through reading or listening audio books
• Pursue a range of interests and hobbies
• Get a pet

While you do that we on the other end at Paradise are trying to gather what meagre funds we can to assist you. This tragedy struck and went straight to the heart of the community, everybody felt it and still feels it trust me. The closest of your friends shed tears youth. Now to the public I would say this in the words of the immortal Tickle Puss “No one of us is stronger than all of us!” So it is in this light I am saying I can’t assist Swizz Bankz alone in the community we have collection going if you live in the vicinity and want to do something, you can drop your donation in the pan at Tash Shop on Paradise Crescent. For the tech savvy who want to pitch in we have a fundrazr account at  http://fnd.us/a1Nut7?ref=sh_06AvEe. All and any aid appreciated. Selah!

https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/SwizzBankz

https://twitter.com/Swizzbankzmusic

https://www.instagram.com/swizzbankzmusic/

https://www.facebook.com/TrapCityMusiq/ 

https://www.reverbnation.com/swizzbankz

 

About the author: Yannick Nesta Pessoa B.A. is Jamaica’s first blogger, a Community Activist and Law Student. Follow Yannick on Twitter at @yahnyk | yannickpessoa@yahoo.com

Jovexx

Can a mere singer/songwriter draw in and concentrate the kind of emotional power that without warning stop a community, in the midst of whatever it is doing and stop old women on the way to church, stop a hairdresser in her shop, stop the young crocs and the killy in their tracks, turn young potential gun men into drummers, let a con man for a day become his better self, stop the prostitute about her business, make other singers and deejays afraid  -- with powerful vocals, soul and genuine lyrics from the heart? Believe you me, I know one such artist and as the title suggests… his name is Jovexx or as his mother knows him Jovian Jackson. You may have already started hearing some of his songs on the radio, maybe you are an early adopter from facebook or instagram, one thing however is certain, you will know Jovexx, he will be a household name in Jamaica, and amongst the pantheon of Montego Bay’s major icons, Queen Ifrica, Tommy Lee Sparta and Jah Cure.

Do pop music lyrics matter? Do reggae and dancehall lyrics matter? Should culture-watchers and pop vulture be giving them the kind of rigorous, deconstructive attention now reserved for the high arts, great literature and an occasional movie? Most of the activists in the street I know believe that these songs and the words in them matter immensely. Cultural analysts should not be left behind. If movies are now our novels, then reggae and dancehall music lyrics may be the closest thing we have nowadays to a mass-marketed poetry, shaping attitudes and emotions for an audience that is, to say the least, extensive.

So when you hear lyrics like “mi agree seh life too hard but mi nah sell mi soul fi nuh round of applause, many live them life in the fast lane, but mama seh it never too late fi Jah Jah fall rain, so mi jus agwaan wait mi turn, time is the key the more you live the more you learn, a just the life weh we live, thanks we a give” or this verse from another song… “we keep holding on, all when the storm and the pressure is on, mi draw fi mi Bible and chant a Psalm,  and when one door close mi carry on, oil and powder them set fi man, the most always kept mi strong, them seh mi nah go mek it but them is wrong, a just my time me waiting pon”

His songs are melodic and filled with bluesy voice and his carefully wrought tales of characters in contemporary Jamaica, that the average person who seeks meaning in the face of society’s evils and havoc can readily identify with. When Jovexx belts a line like “mi nuh sorry mi live a garrison, mi never sorry the way mi born poor, so tell them we proud a weh we come from, ghetto yute haffi make it I sure, is like dem nuh see it seh we a human being, nuffa we pain dem ignore…” I have seen men and women eyes well up with tears.

The way I view this Artiste, it is as though he is a bridge between the Seventies folk and cultural movement and the more socially conscious folk and arts musical revival of the today which Chronixx and Protoje are hailed for. Jovexx's strong convictions, which are relayed in the lyrics to every song in catalogue paint a vivid picture of the struggles that young people, particularly those in Montego Bay, are experiencing now. His message resonated so strongly that he has already amassed a wide following. Jovexx’s stunningly captivating voice is front and center. Whether his lyrics are hopeful or chilling (often both within a single song), this material has a depth and substance well beyond his years. I know this for a fact not hype or fluff talk.

I have known Jovexx since 2014, I met him while assisting another artiste with his career. On our way from a video shoot in Lucea I got into his vehicle. On the way back to MoBay, someone played a riddim in the car, but he started Singjaying a song that sounded beautiful, so I asked him to sing it again, but he said “Rasta, if you never ketch it pon you phone it lost in the wind, caah mi just a mek up supm and gallang pon the riddim and right now mi a drive and mi frass so them lyrics nah come back again!” And I have watched enough Documentaries on true genius and been blessed to have rolled with a few, to know when I am in the presence of it. Plus I’d like to believe the genius in myself recognizes it in another. But as fate would have it, being the way I am, I never wanted to run in on someone else bandwagon. Plus rolling with artistes was proving a little unrewarding since the artiste was rolling with at the time would rather by gunmen 20,000 hennessy at the parties than pay for his bio or help getting a known director from Kingston to shoot his video, nagging industry friends in high places to get him on Morning Time etc etc etc.

But as fate would have it. One Friday morning March 2016, I come down the road in Paradise just in time to see Jovexx stepping out of his car as Stumpy urged him forward, “come in mi artiste, buy wi a liquor and sing song fi mi caah yuh haffi buss, a you alone mek me eye full a water and goosebump tek mi… come in come in” That morning when I asked about the music he was lukewarm as in unsure of where it was going for him. Anyway under the influence of Stumpy he belted out quite a few songs, there was a magic in that moment and I was glad I remember to take out my phone and press the red dot on the video camera… I left the road roughly 12 midday, posted the video of the four songs… when returned in the evening there was more than a million views on Facebook, women and men messaging me from California, New Orleans,England, Italy, producers from Kingston, Twins of Twins, my inbox was more than I could navigate.

Now this is not a promo piece, nobody asked me to write this, I am writing this because too many time great artistes come from Montego Bay and maybe the local papers missed them early or they waited for media in Kingston to validate them as artistes of substance, no not this time… The Mirror and Montego Bay needs to validate our own first, so before you read about him in The Gleaner or the Star or Rolling Stones Magazine, remember, you saw it first in your town, your newspaper, your own legend in the making… Jovexx, go check him on Youtube… from singing on the streets in Paradise to global studios, don’t be the last to know.

The MoBay Underground Arts Movement

“We live in cities you'll never see onscreen, Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things, Livin' in ruins of a palace within my dreams, And you know we're on each other's team”
Lorde: Team

“Don't you think that it's boring how people talk, Making smart with their words again, well I'm bored, Because I'm doing this for the thrill of it, killin' it… It's a new art form showing people how little we care (yeah), We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fear”
Lorde: Tennis Court

I know the word underground cued you in to this article! So you wanna know what is “the underground”? Well it is the cutting-edge output of writers, musicians and artists linked to together by the zeitgeist (spirit of the times) of Montego Bay today and operate more or less outside the margins of what mainstream artsin Montego Bay and Jamaica has come to be known. Now during the last century, the vast majority of music you heard and bought was controlled by a small number of companies: record labels, radio stations and other dominators of the media. So too with the art you see, it is run by a small cabal of tastemakers and custodians. Artists need them to reach the public and the public’s choice was prescribed by what these gatekeepers believed could best turn a profit or suited their inclinations. Today, however, a networked world is giving artists and audiences the tools to reject those companies forever.

The arrival of illegal filesharing on Napster  at the turn of the century changed everything: it was a collision between a new format (MP3) and a new distribution system (the internet), both of which sat outside of the control of the traditional music business. It made the first dents in the arts and culture cartel and gave the underground a hotline to a global audience for the first time. Social Media platforms learned from this and focused on doing one thing well: community (Facebook, Twitter), video (YouTube), audio (SoundCloud), sales (Bandcamp), ticketing (Songkick, Dice), self-serve distribution (TuneCore, CD Baby), alternative funding (Pledge, Patreon, Kickstarter) and so on. In time Google image searches,Deviant Art, Flickr, Instagram and Pinterest would do the same for visual art. For the last two decades, if not even longer, modern Jamaican art has been trapped in the vicious circle of pastiches and appropriations. The art world was full of neo-somethings, post-isms, and meta-artistic phenomena. Conceptual art, minimalism, the revival of the abstract, all these movements were more concerned with conditions of their own existence, self-referential and approachable only through art theory. Modern Jamaican art spoke only to a limited circle of educated people and even they are getting tired of its senselessness.

Today’s underground in Mobay is an eclectic mix and hybrid of intellectualism and energies ignorant of academic discourse and theory, immersed into our real and current everyday reality which contemporary artists ignored, naturally has become a movement attractive to many. Also, it is the only movement that emerged in the last 15 years or more that wasn’t just a revival of some other historic art traditions. What we have here is not a harkening back to Barry Watson or Claude Mckay, not a reggae revival as the artistes in Kingston have engineered but a kind of Afro-Caribbean Futurism. Furthermore, the aesthetic diversity of Mobay’s art practitioners is welcomed in the art world dominated by monochromatic canvases and empty spaces.

Music and art today are highly democratic because of its rootedness in public, communal spaces and social media spaces. The social, political aspects and critical connotations sre to be praised owing to the fact that contemporary art has lost its sense of the social surroundings. When on display at the National Gallery West has on display Art like “How to Kill a sound boy” and “We should keep her”, it seems contrary to what artists and artistes on the ground in Montego Bay Jamaica are doing. Kill a sound boy seems an assault on the musical artist and begs question of sexuality. While a piece that would suggest we have kept the Queen, seems a slap in the face to all the street poets and artists that believe in our ability to govern our own destiny and chart an Afro-Carribean future. It would seem a reneging on the zeal of our predecessors.

“The mass media and mainstream are too expensive and soul sucking for the underground artist. Renting a gallery for exhibition isn’t cheap. There are too many compromises. Too many people telling you how you should be doing things.” Hence, the greatest painters and musicians and poets are rarely on TV as to be invisible, never ever in daily newspapers, and not even in the same universe as advertisers.

Montego Bay’s Underground art is emerging as rebellious owing simply to its exclusion, so expect it be connected to subculture lifestyles, hostile toward art institutions, with anti-capitalist, social and political undertones. The flowering of Montegonian underground art is strongly dependent on the communities and local reception. It originates on a neighborhood and community level, addressing local issues and communicating messages in-situ. Globally, urban art like no other movement in recent art history gained praise and recognition everywhere and the most intriguing thing about it is that it was equally appreciated by the large art loving audience, elite collectors, and art professionals. It is a puzzling fact then it is left behind as Montego Bay presents itself to the world?

About the author: Yannick Nesta Pessoa B.A. is Jamaica’s first blogger, a Community Activist and Law Student. Follow Yannick on Twitter at @yahnyk | yannickpessoa@yahoo.com