Pubdate: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 Source: Jamaica Gleaner, The (Jamaica) Contact: 2003 The Gleaner Company Limited Website: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/493 THE 'ONE GANG' PERIL MORE AND more reports are surfacing about attempts by a dominant criminal mind to consolidate disparate gangs into 'One Gang' - a supra all-inclusive fraternity of thugs and gunmen with allegiance to a single leader and an ominous common purpose to control the criminal underground. The first inkling of this was in St. Catherine and we are now hearing about the same perilous development in St. James. The indiscipline and aggressive individualism of Jamaicans have hitherto mitigated against the consolidation of gangs but the issue is now being tested, perhaps by a potential maximo leader who does not hesitate to murder the leaders of smaller gangs who refuse the invitation to merge. And just as businessmen in the private sector have found ways of channelling the undisciplined personality of Jamaicans into productive teams, so too some deportee, with an advanced "degree" in crime earned in a foreign jail, may possess organisational skills beyond our imagination. One such deportee is reported to be involved in the Canterbury battle and the police have declared a manhunt for him. We are concerned why deportees should be allowed such freedom to travel at will. Local police have complained that their hands are tied in relation to restriction orders recommended to be placed on a number of dangerous deportees. It appears that court approval is required on the basis of documentation detailing trial and evidence relating to each deportee. In short, legal red tape is stymying effective surveillance of such deportees. If such persons succeed in consolidating 'One Gang' rule the criminals would be well on their way to taking over the streets and imposing their will on the society. If the police operation in Canterbury was as successful as the police claim, the next area to be cleaned up should be the Wareika Hills which provide habitation for criminals who sally forth into Mountain View Avenue and across the Corporate Area. To accomplish this we may well need to request the assistance of foreign police on the scale suggested by Mr. Gordon 'Butch' Stewart - some 2,000 personnel who would serve on contract as 'advisors' for a year or two. American force serves in this capacity in many countries of the world as part of the international fight against drugs. Mr. Stewart's suggestion is not likely to appeal periodically to the present administration but, compared with declaring a state of emergency, it might be the lesser of two evils. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk