The Jamaica Constabulary Drive (JCF) is looking on companies and people who’ve been focused by extortionists to report incidents to the police, stressing that working with regulation enforcement can result in prosecutions and assist stop additional hurt.
Detective Sergeant Grace Frazer-Lawrence of the JCF’s Nationwide Strategic Anti-Gang Division highlighted the prevalence of extortion within the transport business, the place operators are sometimes pressured to pay repeated charges or “taxes” to proceed their work. She famous that small enterprise homeowners are additionally frequent targets.
“Individuals could also be requested for cover from sure legal components, when they’re certainly the mentioned legal components,” Detective Sergeant Frazer-Lawrence defined on the Force4Good Podcast, a JCF initiative aimed toward elevating consciousness of points affecting Jamaicans. “They could obtain letters, threats, cellphone calls, texts, or WhatsApp messages demanding fee beneath risk of hurt.”
Detective Inspector Paulette Wynter-Crossfield, Station Supervisor on the Nationwide Strategic Anti-Gang Division, mentioned the cash generated from extortion can quantity to billions of {dollars} yearly. She added that whereas the issue exists islandwide, it’s significantly pronounced in areas corresponding to Spanish City, St. Catherine.
Efforts to curb extortion, together with previous makes an attempt to control so-called “backup males” in transport hubs, have met with restricted success, Wynter-Crossfield mentioned, emphasizing the necessity for cooperation from all stakeholders to make lasting change.
The JCF urges anybody approached by extortionists to come back ahead promptly and work with police, assuring that measures are in place to assist shield victims.
