Drug trafficking is responsible for a third of homicides in Guyana annually and has promoted corruption to such an extent that traffickers are shielded from prosecution, a United Nations (UNDP) Citizens Security Survey has found.
“Indeed, drug trafficking has been linked to the rise in execution type killings, which accounts for around a third of homicides in Guyana each year. Additionally, it fosters the corruption of public sector employees and law enforcement personnel by drug traffickers who use their wealth to buy influence and protection from prosecution”, the survey found.
The findings of the survey which was done in seven countries of the region –Antigua and Barbuda, Barba-dos, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trini-dad and Tobago was released in the Caribbean Human Development Report 2012 which was launched in Port of Spain yesterday.
Guyana’s major drug kingpin, Roger Khan managed to avoid prosecution here for over a decade under the PPP/C government while building thriving businesses – including one on an Essequibo River island – and attempting to acquire a forest lease. It was only after an indictment in the US that he was nabbed in Suriname and later prosecuted in a New York court and jailed. For many years citizens have argued that drug kingpins have not been prosecuted and only low-level couriers are charged.
Distorts
Some 11, 155 resident citizens were randomly selected and interviewed during the 2010 survey. The target population was households with at least one person older than 18 years old and residing there permanently.
In the case of Guyana it was found that drug trafficking distorts the local economy and undermines legitimate economic activity “because the monies derived from drug sales are laundered by pricing commodities and services much lower than the prevailing market rate.”
According to the report there is evidence which indicates that the levels of organized crime in Guyana and Suriname varied but are often related to drug trafficking. Local officials during the survey reported that those involved in transporting drugs would often use the same operation for other illegal activities.
It was noted that drug trafficking has consequential effects on local criminality including youth gangs, prostitution and violent and property crime related to drug markets. The survey also found that drug trafficking led to proliferation of firearms which are frequently traded for the drugs.
It was stated that when it comes to the presence of gangs in neighbourhoods, almost 18% of residents in St. Lucia confirmed that there were gangs followed by Trinidad with 13.9% and Guyana with 13.2%. Obser-vers in Guyana reported that gangs emerged in their neighbourhoods in the last three years and the findings suggested that with the exception of Guyana, many Caribbean nations have had a gang problem for five years or longer.
In Barbados and Guyana while the issue of organized crime does not appear prevalent, there are periodic reports of gang homicides. The survey, the report said revealed varying levels of gang violence. Guyanese came fifth behind St. Lucians, Trinida-dians, Antiguans, and Jamai-cans with 10% in this regard.
School violence
Meanwhile, when it came to school violence there were few reports of cases of the use of guns in Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad. Student sexual violence against other students has also been reported across the region and was highlighted as a special concern in Suriname.
Since, 2000 the survey found, the homicide rate has risen substantially in Trinidad and fluctuated but trended mostly upwards in Antigua, Guyana and St. Lucia. In terms of firearm-related offences, the impact of gun violence is witnessed predominantly in nations such as Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad but region wide firearms are being used more often in the commission of crimes.
When it comes to satisfaction with the work of the police, the survey found that “significantly higher percentages of men” were satisfied with the police response to violent crimes in Guyana. It was also pointed out that Caribbean countries suffer from unreformed police structures
Efforts by Stabroek News to verify if a representative from Guyana was sent to the event were met with varying responses from officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The secretary to the Minister said that while Minister Carolyn Rodrigues was on official diplomatic duties, she believed that Director General Elisabeth Harper was the designated representative. However when contact was made with Harper’s office, the secretary was unable to confirm this and referred this newspaper to Guyana’s ambassador to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Audrey Jardine Waddle.
Waddle too was unable to verify if anyone was sent by Guyana and subsequently referred this newspaper to the Home Affairs Ministry as the issue was a security matter. This newspaper was unable to make contact with ministry officials.
Insecurity
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark in her presentation in Trinidad yesterday said that the report under the theme “Human Development and the shift to better citizens’ security” is the first of its kind covering the Region and focuses on patterns and perceptions of citizen security in the Caribbean while analyzing the impact of insecurity and violence on human development.
“For countries in this region and elsewhere, high levels of violence and crime jeopardize development pro-gress. They stifle economic growth, by, for example, adversely affecting the investment climate and tourism numbers. They increase the cost of law enforcement and of health care for victims – thereby crowding out expenditure on development”, Clark said.
She noted that her organization is committed to helping countries break out of cycles of violence and insecurity, through efforts which create virtuous cycles of peace, prosperity, and development. Data collected and analyzed in reports like this one are critical for the evidence-based policymaking which enables such transformations to occur, she said.
She went on to explain that the data gathered from the seven countries proposes new ways of tackling violence, crime, and security, by moving from a focus on state security to one centred on citizen security. The report suggests that such an approach would address the multiple causes of increases in violent crime, including social, economic, and political exclusion and its manifestations, she said.
Perceptions
According to Clark, the data collected confirms perceptions that citizen insecurity is rising in the region. “While the incidence of non-violent crime has remained low by international standards, violent crime, particularly homicides, has surged, and in some cases matches that of some of the most insecure places in the world”, she stressed.
The report, she said reveals that Trinidad had relatively low and stable homicide rates from 1990 to 2000, but has seen a substantial rise since while sexual violence and domestic violence are also of concern in the region. The report also found that eleven percent of the survey respondents reported being victims of violence in the home with women experiencing all forms of violence at higher rates than men. Around thirty per cent of women surveyed feared being sexually assaulted.
Clark noted that a number of Caribbean countries have taken “important steps” to address the problem of citizen insecurity. The report found that confidence in the capacity of the state to protect its citizens and to deliver justice fairly and transparently is what matters most to citizens.
The UNDP has successfully supported citizen security projects in a number of countries in the region, she said.
She then outlined a few recommendations aimed at protecting citizens, preventing further violence and crime, and reforming institutions to re-build trust and confidence.
In the area of protection, Clark said that the report suggested the establishment of better monitoring systems to prevent child abuse, and providing greater support to families living in areas characterized by high levels of violence. It also calls for reviews of current legislation which may discriminate against indigenous persons and sexual minorities, or facilitate intolerance and violence against these groups.
In the area of prevention, the report, according to Clark, calls for new approaches to reducing gang violence and organized crime with a focus on empowering youth and offering alternative futures for them and their communities while building the infrastructure and institutional capacity to respond effectively to street gangs and organized crime.
Clark said that in the area of reform, the report suggests that there be new approaches to citizens’ security with focus on reform of the justice and police systems and the enlisting of communities as partners in reducing violence.
