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Governance

Peace, security and justice issues represent the overarching priority addressed by the UNDP Jamaica Multi-Country Office. Pervasive crime and violence – illicit trade in drugs, murder, extortion, corruption, “garrison communities” dominated by organized gangs, and residual links between politics and criminality – are broadly perceived by Jamaicans as the most pressing problem facing the country. The murder rate in 2005 was the highest reported in the world. Children younger than age 18 account for more than 1 in 4 of total arrests; for major crimes, 98 percent of those arrested are young men aged 19 to 25.

UNDP has extensive experience in issues of insecurity and armed violence since 2002 and is a trusted partner of the Government. Our Jamaica Violence Prevention, Peace and Sustainable Development (JVPPSD) Programme serves both inner-city urban and rural communities affected by increasing levels of armed violence and supports a coordinated response to crime and violence issues. We bring together the Government, interested national institutions and international donors, and all sectors of society to address and overcome the challenges of crime and violence.

In addition to working at the policy level, we also strengthen local government capacities for service delivery and build communities’ capacities to prevent and resolve conflict, as well as provide alternative livelihood opportunities for youth at risk. In making coordination our primary objective, we also support systematic monitoring of progress, reporting on lessons learnt, and a communications strategy that is designed to educate the public on the chosen directions and expected outcomes.

In particular, we have worked to support “restorative justice,” which brings victims, offenders and communities together to decide on a response to a particular crime and encourage offenders to face up to their actions. We also have supported an innovative national survey on the impact of armed violence and crime and are working to reduce the significant number of small arms flowing in from Central America, elsewhere in the Caribbean, and the United States.

Find details on the Jamaica Violence Prevention, Peace and Sustainable Development (JVPPSD) Programme.

What Is Restorative Justice?

Restorative justice is about putting victims’ needs at the centre of the criminal justice system and finding positive solutions to crime by encouraging offenders to make amends directly to the people or organizations they have harmed and to face up to their actions. An examples of restorative justice approaches includes having offenders repair property they have damaged, such as painting schools or businesses. A victim may request a restorative justice approach to make an offender realize how the crime has affected their life; to find out information to help put the crime behind them, such as why the offender targeted them; or to openly forgive the offender.

UNDP supports restorative justice because it gives victims a greater voice in the criminal justice system; allows victims to receive an explanation and more meaningful reparation from offenders; makes offenders accountable by allowing them to take responsibility for their actions; and builds community confidence that offenders are making amends for their wrongdoing. Restorative justice is not a soft option as many offenders find it extremely difficult to face up to the impact of their crimes.

We are committed to putting victims at the centre of the criminal justice system and have introduced a restorative justice strategy that involves building more restorative justice processes into the criminal justice system in both targeted urban and rural areas. To this end, we are supporting such restorative justice initiatives as the establishment of community peace and justice centres; strengthening capacity of the Department of Correctional Services to carry out community service orders; and development of community mediation and paralegal services.

An opportunity also exists to strategically link our work on peace and justice to the implementation of international initiatives to address armed violence. Jamaica is one of only three countries selected as focus countries for the implementation of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, along with the joint United Nations global Armed Violence Prevention Programme, supported by UNDP and four other United Nations organizations.

While learning from other countries’ experiences, our work in Jamaica will act as a pilot for development of gender-sensitive community security and armed violence prevention programmes around the world. These linkages will help to ensure that as well as having an impact nationally, the lessons learnt will be shared internationally.