Crime Prevention and Community Safety

, Volume 12, Issue 1, pp 1–23 | Cite as

Towards degarrisonisation in Jamaica: A place for civil society

  • Hume Nicola Johnson
Original Article
First Online:
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Abstract

For nearly 50 years, powerful politically connected criminal actors called ‘dons’ (or area leaders) have occupied – Mafia style – some of Jamaica's deprived urban communities, and enacted new, outlaw forms of community leadership. In these communities, notoriously labelled ‘garrisons’, dons have ‘manufactured consent’ for their illicit rule, using coercive tactics and by positioning themselves as legitimate civic leaders. In the process, these rogue actors have not only gained acceptance among significant numbers of the subaltern class but also (tacit) political recognition in the wider society. Genuine civil society has been eclipsed in Jamaica's urban garrisons due to the persistence of this rogue leadership. Still, a more hopeful outlook for Jamaica may be possible. Drawing upon previous research outlining the widespread struggle against the Mafia led by members of Italian civil society, and the ensuing decline in its omnipotence in that country, the paper considers the implications of the positive developments in Italy for the noticeable movement towards degarrisonisation in Jamaica, and contemplates what role a resurrected Jamaican civil society might play in this process.

Keywords

Jamaica crime civil society garrisons dons Mafia 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This was presented at the ‘Dismantling the Garrisons’ Conference, Centre for Public Safety and Justice, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica (West Indies), 26 February 2008. The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Joseph L. Soeters (Netherlands Defence Academy/the University of Tilburg) for his brilliant collaborative work on the earlier version of this paper. I also wish to acknowledge the comments and inspiration received from Professors Barry Chevannes and Anthony Harriott from the University of the West Indies (Jamaica), as well as the well-informed comments of the research participants who helped to clarify some of the arguments. I, however, take full responsibility for any shortcomings herein.

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Copyright information

© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • Hume Nicola Johnson
    • 1
  1. 1.James Cook University (Western Campus), DouglasTownsvilleAustralia

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