Crime an emotional burden on Jamaicans, says cop once held hostage by prisoners

NEW YORK, USA — A senior cop who was once held hostage by prisoners but escaped, said crime has become an emotional burden carried by Jamaicans everywhere, and urged members of the Diaspora here to further help reduce crime at home.

“Lend your voice and take decisive action where possible to assist the security forces back home in their effort to further reduce violent crime in the country,” implored 35-year veteran of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Superintendent Errol Adams.

“Whether someone lives in Toronto, New York, London, Miami or Fort Lauderdale, there remains an emotional attachment to Jamaica. Families abroad still worry about their elderly parents, children, and loved ones back home,” he said.

“Crime therefore has become more than a local issue, it has become an emotional burden carried by Jamaicans everywhere,” Superintendent Adams said in an impassioned address to the recent 17th annual Fundraising and Awards Banquet of the Ex-Correctional Officers Association of Jamaica in Queens, New York.

He noted that while Jamaicans abroad have worked long hours to support their families back home — especially through what he described as the barrel phenomena or the practice of sending household items, food, and school supplies back home to sustain family members — criminals have, unfortunately, found ways to exploit this trusted system.

“We find illegal weapons entering Jamaica through shipping containers, cargo ports, courier services, postal systems and informal coastal landing sites. Weapons are increasingly being hidden in items such as refrigerators, generators, industrial equipment and furniture.

“These operations are not random. They are organised, strategic and often connected to international criminal networks,” said Adams, outlining areas in which Jamaicans abroad can help in crime-fighting measures.

Janice Julian of Caribbean Food Delights being presented with the 2026 Community Service Award by Ronnie Hammick, president of the Ex-Correctional Officers Association of Jamaica, at the association’s fund-raising and awards banquet in Queens, New York, recently. (Harold Bailey)

Adams insisted that vigilance is essential to ensure that shipping and financial systems are not misused. Diaspora responsibilities therefore must include avoiding proxy or informal shipping arrangements; verifying the contents and purpose of shipping; supporting lawful trade and investment channels; and discouraging participation in illegal activities.

“The Diaspora must never allow love for family to be manipulated into support for criminality,” Adams told banquet attendees.

A former correctional officer himself, Adams was one of two officers held hostage by death row inmates at the St Catherine District Prison in Spanish Town. in 1988.

“One major challenge facing law enforcement is the adaptability of traffickers as every time authorities improve one security measure, criminals search for another loophole; it is therefore a constant battle between enforcement agencies and organised crime,” the senior cop lamented.

He argued that Jamaica’s extensive coastline also presents logistical challenges as monitoring every beach, dock, fishing village, and coastal entry is extremely difficult.

“It is well known how creative smugglers can become, and when criminal creativity combines with organised trafficking networks, the consequences usually become deadly,” Adams emphasised.

“This is why intelligence sharing — an area in which members of the Diaspora can play a role; technology; custom modernisation; and community cooperation are so important,” he said.

Attendees at the Ex-Correctional Officers Association of Jamaica’s 2026 Fundraising and Awards Banquet in Queens, New York, listen keenly to keynote speaker, Superintendent Errol Adams of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. (Harold Bailey)

The superintendent also addressed the social, cultural and economic impact gang violence and crime in general had and continued to have on Jamaica’s development, saying: “Crime places enormous pressure on Jamaica’s economy, as is evident in the billions which are spent annually on policing, security operations, the courts, incarceration, health care and emergency response.

“These are resources that could be better used to support schools, infrastructure, health care, technology, and programmes which benefit our youths,” the crime-fighter asserted.

Sharing some crime statistics for 2024 and 2025, Adams said that 833 illegal firearms were seized in 2024 when approximately 1,141 murders and over 1,000 shooting incidents were recorded. Comparatively, last year 1,201 illegal firearms were seized while murders declined to 673, a 30-year low.

Superintendent Adams, who is currently pursing a Master of Science Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies, said Jamaica’s response to its crime-fighting measures must remain comprehensive and coordinated.

At the banquet, three students from Copiague High School in Long Island were the recipients of the 2026 scholarships awarded by the Ex-Correctional Officers Association of Jamaica.

President of the association, Ronnie Hammick disclosed that monetary donations were also made to the youth soccer team of the North Bronx Seventh-day Adventist Church, Team Jamaica Bickle, and to the Tulloch Legacy Foundation to assist with Hurricane Melissa recovery.

Caribbean Food Delights, the conglomerate founded by Jamaican entrepreneur and philanthropist Vincent HoSang, won the association’s 2026 Community Service Award for its work in fostering many development projects within the Diaspora and Jamaica over several years.