Region's Rising Crime Linked to Deportations

JAMAICA'S MINISTER of National Security and Justice, K.D. Knight, has called for joint regional approach in broaching the United States on the problem of the deportation of criminals to the Caribbean.
Knight said while he had held high-level discussions on the deportation issue with US Attorney-General Janet Reno, no solution had been found.

According to Knight, as in most Caribbean countries, crime has become acute with the deportation of many criminals from the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

"These criminals are major felons who have been imprisoned for drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, armed robbery, shootings and murder," Knight said.

Long-standing US residents

The problem was compounded by the fact some deportees have been residing in the united States for upwards of 20 years, and do not have any relatives in Jamaica.

On return they sometimes end up as street people but often times, are rescued by their criminal cronies who provide shelter and the wherewithal for their involvement in criminal activities. At this stage, they become influential in organised crime, spreading their network to the very countries from which they have come and of course at times beyond", he said.

In his statement, Knight said it is time that it be understood by developed countries that in solving crime in their countries, "the deportation oof hardened criminals to our shores stretch our crime-fighting capacity to the outer limits".

In addition to the deportation of criminals, Knight expressed concern about the transnational flow of illegal drugs, weapons and in instances illegal aliens.

He said this trend is creating havoc in many of the Caribbean countries and has replaced the threats posed previously by military and political interventions.