A senior investigator, with the Jamaica Constabulary Force, who wishes to remain anonymous, has reported that Jamaican children, as young as three years, are being taught to smoke marijuana, consume alcohol and use firearms as part of their training for a life of crime.
The senior investigator, with more than 20 years experience in law enforcement, said that the child criminal has no emotion, no soul, no fear, no feelings, or sense of reasoning, they only know how to be criminals.
This sentiment was supported not only by police statistics, but by Dr. Henley Morgan, head of the innercity project, Caribbean Applied Technology, in Trench Town. He said that these children are "...predisposed to crime and violence. Shaped from the w****..."
Police statistics reveal that in 2005-2006, approximately 150 minors, (12-15 years), were arrested for a myriad of crimes, while in 2005, 826 criminals, (12-20 years), were arrested. According to the investigator, the 18-25 year old criminals are being replaced by the 12-13 year olds.
It has been revealed that older siblings, immediate and extended family members are responsible for initiating these children from as early as six years old into a life of crime.
By the age of 15, these children have acquired up to 10 years experience in criminal activities and a growing appetite for murder. It is this criminal legacy which is hampering the governments crime management initiative.
Lawman Lynch, a former resident of the innercity and president of the KSA Action Forum Youth Organisation, a Safe School Ambassador as well as a Youth and Community Development consultant, told the Sunday Observer that these children must be rescued through education and social intervention, which must include parenting skills, as he sees where "...there is dire need for good parents."