Jamaican Posse Violence / Organized Crime Jamaican

Jamaican Posse Violence / Organized Crime

Jamaican Posse Violence

Violent Jamaican posses are not new. They have been around since shortly after Hurricane Charlie struck Jamaica, back in 1951 (Gunst, 1996). Jamaicans with gang violence in mind came to the United States in 1971, and began their activities in that country as early as 1976 (Gunst, 1996). Gun battles with police and drive-by shootings with rival gangs were common, generally based on arguments over drugs and territory. In 1984, the posses started to attract the attention of law enforcement. Southern Florida was one of the most common places to find them, with the Shower Posse and the Spangler Posse being the most notable of the gangs at that time (Gunst, 1996). Those two gangs are still the most prominent today, and they have a bitter rivalry with one another. Anyone who happens to get caught up in their violence, even unintentionally, can meet with an unsavory end.

The main disagreement between the two posses is political, with one posse supporting the Jamaican Labor Party and the other supporting the People's National Party (Gunst, 1996). According to the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, there are 40 Jamaican posses operating in the United States (Gunst, 1996). These gangs are comprised of nearly 13,000 members, and continue to grow (Gunst, 1996). A large number of them are in spin-off groups, and there are five posses that have been linked to the distribution of drugs in both New Jersey and New York (Gunst, 1996). While they might have begun in Florida, they did not take that long to make their way up the coast and get involved in illegal activities. Initially, the Jamaican posses migrated to the U.S. In search of money for automatic weapons (Gunst, 1996). Once they became established in the country, however, they realized they could make a lucrative living there through the selling of drugs. Many of them stayed, instead of returning to Kingston with the money they were making.

US African-American Organized Crime Leaders

When people think of organized crime in the United States, especially in the context of the past, they often think only of Caucasian people. However, there were many African-Americans in organized crime, as well. This started before Prohibition and continued until late in the 20th Century. Many of these people were involved in speakeasies, bootlegging, illegal gambling, and the selling of illegal alcohol (Schatzberg & Kelly, 1997). It is not completely clear how many of these criminal factions were operated completely independently of the major crime rings of that time, and how many were actually offshoots of the larger criminal organizations. Harlem was the main setting for much of the organized crime tied to African-Americans in the 1920s and 1930s (Schatzberg & Kelly, 1997). Stephanie St. Clair and Casper Holstein controlled much of the illegal gambling in that area (Schatzberg & Kelly, 1997). Late in the 1930s, Dutch Schultz took over the gambling (Schatzberg & Kelly, 1997).