Targets – Reviewing the Grants Pen situation and this Business of Crime

Originally wrtitten, 2008.

There have been a series of discussions over the past months on the embattled Community Policing Project in Grants Pen St. Andrew, the tone of which has the potential to be very polarizing. As a consequence, the differing views on the subject have lead to fallout among some of the key stakeholders - if not publicly, at least in the cover of meetings or other informal assemblies, and now gradually surfacing. I am of the view, however, that this issue of success or failure is contingent upon the following;

1. Who was setting the targets

2. what the targets and objectives were

3. what timeliness were tied to the respective targets

4. to what extent were the targets achieved within the specified time

5. What were the next definable steps at the end of the project term to sustain the effects/results

This would raise another important question regarding "who" would be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the results. These are crucial questions to be concluded for future projects.

It is worth noting that some of the very important stakeholders came in at different stages – hence, a degree of disconnect would exist in the points of view, objectives and perceptions of various interests. What needs to be done is a fair and honest assessment of the successes and shortcomings of the project, so that we can build upon its strengths and attempt to address its shortcomings with rigorous evaluation and scrutiny. This is recommended more so than any research or approach intended for either a wholesale dismissal of the project as a failure or a knee-jerk defense to suggest that it was a resounding success. I have been opposed to either of those two extreme views. It is very easy to find evidence to support either view once there is an interest to build a case in defense of either. The justice we seek to find for our disenfranchised brothers and sisters must also be reflected in our work, in our research, in our business and our pronouncements. Exhaustive discussions have ensued on the particular Grants Pen situation, but I wish to engage in a conversation that invites contextual dispassionate thinking. ANY EFFORT TO COMPREHENSIVELY SOLVE THE GRANTS PEN ISSUE WILL AMOUNT TO NAUGHT WITHOUT DUE ATTENTION TO SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED IN CONCERT WITH LOCAL INTERVENTIONS. Some of these issues include:

1. The International trafficking of Guns and Drugs in tandem with easy intra and inter-community transportation of same

2. The importation and exportation of 'shottas' (gun-men) from one inner-city community to the next

3. Historic mistrust of Police and authority - (perception of corruption as well as experience of same, including influential officials/citizens involved in organized crime)

4. History of Political tensions and divisions or tensions that prevail, whether perceived or real 

5. Broken Families (Children who are parents/Homes without Fathers/Poor Parenting)

6. Competitive, well funded and powerful negative messages of social engineering in mainstream media that conflicts with the positive messages from low budget NGOs and other positive agents of socialization. Some of these negative images include:

(1) High promotion of gun violence/gangster lifestyle and 'get rich or die trying' themes by leading role models (to the minds we seek to influence) in music (dance-hall etc.)

(2) The promotion of renegade personalities and discouragement of cooperation with the Police and legal authorities (“Informer fi dead”)

I have only scratched the surface and will not elaborate here, on the preceding, as enough research and findings have been presented on the respective areas. These things will not simply disappear from the radar as soon as projects are rolled out. All interests will continue to contend in a free market environment, including those that seek to search and destroy all that is good. The competition never rests. Therefore, while some are building, some are tearing down. While we offer training in Information Technology (IT) skills to contribute to the economy, some offer training in IT skills to take from the economy; while we offer counseling to unload burdens, feelings of guilt, anger, revenge and hate, some are offer training on how to unload and reload M-16s or Ak-47s, and how to burden business men/women with extortion rings or their border rivals with revengeful reprisals. This does not imply failure on the part of civil society. It will not take one project alone to rid our society of the scourge of violence. It is unreasonable to suggest that a two-year project should restore total trust or peace. How does one expect that a short term intervention should reverse the curse of decades of social, economic and political disenfranchisement? Who could be audacious enough to demand that projects that are subject to the ‘terms’ and conditions of donors, solve problems whose roots run deep?

What is required is a systematic and clear strategic definition of the terms of engagement with incremental and long-term targets clearly defined and time-bound, tied to resources. Targets achieved in increments can demonstrate tangible and measurable successes that can be built upon. On the other hand, goals and objectives that are diffused and broad-based have the potential to lead to perceptions of failure, as the parameters for measurement are neither well defined nor clear; or when targets are unrealistic based on time-lines and available resources. This will result in continued frustration and an exercise in futility. If Grants Pen is therefore seen as a place where everyone wants to do something or anything; and everyone is achieving something at least, and wants to be credited with the rewards of being "the one" with the solution, confusion will be inevitable. THIS WILL ALSO GENERATE A DIFFERENT KIND OF TURF WAR WHICH IS NOT CONFINED TO RIVALING GANGS SLINGING GUNS WITH MISGUIDED BULLETS, BUT ALSO AMONG STAKEHOLDERS SLINGING UNFOUNDED STATEMENTS IN PRESS RELEASES OR CONFERENCE ROOMS. If this obtains then there will not be sufficient definition of, agreement on or tracking of targets and results. This will also frustrate residents. There must be sufficient strategic planning tied to a system of proper monitoring and evaluation, with a unified, definable, identifiable and accountable agency. Despite that fact that the philosophy and practice of Local Development encourages collaboration and the empowered involvement of all actors, it cannot be left up solely to the enthusiasm of fragmented groups, that assume that “we are all in it together”, to benchmark success. There must be one oversight body or umbrella under which all efforts will operate on this special and any other special project designed to achieve special results. Additionally, specialized expertise must be called upon to take on specialized tasks. Absence of this is due in part to budgetary constraints as well as the tendency of some groups or individuals to take on every available challenge in order to seize the attention of the next available donor, or to benefit from a photo opportunity.

THE BUILDING OF A FACILITY WITH ALL THE TRAPPINGS OF A ONE STOP CONVENIENT SOCIAL SECURITY STORE WILL NOT SIMPLY DRAW THE MASSES IN, PROSTRATING ON THE ALTER OF GRATITUDE. The people are not automated machines that merely accept programmes and respond according to our mathematical calculations or theoretical projections. They are social beings living with a myriad of personal challenges, opinions, motives and priorities. People will respond to a new thrust and will be energized to give new interventions a chance. But people will also continue with their life as usual, because many interventions were never designed to address the deep rooted issues that they will have to continue living with, as usual; because the REASONS for most of the problems people face are left hanging – not fully examined nor dealt with. For example, what is the reason for a young don to enjoy popularity among residents? What is the reason for the continued easy access to guns in our general society? What is the reason for borders and zones? Once the REASONS remain, whether they result from social exclusion, or deliberate social and political engineering, success will always be virtually unattainable or achieved merely in bouts. Bouts of six moths, twelve or twenty four months without “recorded” murders or shootings. BUT THE PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS THAT NECESSITATE EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIAL DISSENT OR DEVIANCE REMAIN.

No citizen that I have engaged with in the past five and a half years during my tenure at the Stella Maris Foundation ever told me that they believe the project would solve all the problems of Grants Pen. They, as I did, felt it would play a pivotal role in mitigating the effects of the problems and provide an important opportunity to build on existing positives. They know, but may not be able to articulate, that deep systemic issues transcend a physical facility – they know that when all is said and done, many will have to find the night’s rest in a crowded room on a zinc fenced gully bank or a one-room shack in a big yard. Many of them know that when all is said and done, THOUGH THEY ARE THANKFUL FOR THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, GUNS REMAIN AMONG THEIR MIDST AND “ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN” AT ANYTIME. THEY ALSO KNOW THAT INSTEAD OF THE FANCY PROJECT PROPOSALS, REPETITIVE RESEARCHES AND ANALYSIS, IT IS THE SUSTAINED SOCIAL INTERVENTIONS, COUPLED WITH SERIOUS INFRASTRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL ADDRESS THE DEEPER SOCIAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES. Interventions like:

i. Skills Training

ii. Job Creation and micro-enterprises

iii. Counseling & Mentorship

iv. Capacity Building/Leadership Training/Mentorship

v. Active CBOs (Youth Clubs, Sports Clubs etc.) with sustained activities – Sporting Competitions etc.

vi. Strengthening and continuity of entities and initiatives like the Stella Maris Foundation; Ministers’ Fraternal; Barbican/Grants Pen Uplifment Movement Benevolent Society; Special Projects for unattached males coordinated by personalities like Betty Ann Blaine; community organizers like Donovan Corcho; volunteers and leaders like Rose Marie Francis and many residents and groups that are too many to mention.

In my over five years working in the Grants Pen area, no project or intervention has had far reaching resonance without being accompanied by impact activities such as mentorship and sports – especially the latter, which informs a sense of achievement, purpose, and participatory involvement/ownership through cross-border interaction. Sports also serves a therapeutic function. Hence, the marked changes witnessed in the implementation of the Community Policing Project, while attributed to the already pioneering work of the Stella Maris Foundation and other CBOs; the collaborative work/support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), the Private Sector, the high level unprecedented involvement of Political representatives and local CBOs – must be seen in the context of specific activities that were taking place amid the noise and haste. These included the increased initiatives that brought members of the community, simply, physically and visually together – especially sports.

Further, of key importance is the one to one contact with people. The follow through; the personal touch with someone in whose life you can make a difference, cannot be underestimated. With all that we do - all the theoretical approaches - all the meetings etc., without the discipline builders, the border breakers, the sustained activities that increase inter-community involvement, with the police personnel participating in community-based activities; with people working together on realistic and easily attainable tasks (EATS); with people in touch with people to encourage and motivate people who have not had that kind of an interaction throughout their lives - not just for two years, but a structure that can be sustained and remain perpetual.

It will be useful to mention here, that during the implementation of the project, the Stella Maris Foundation hosted a massive Football tournament that witnessed at least two hundred young men taking part – young men whose presence on the field of play translated into young men who went home to rest and refresh themselves, developing a habit of preparation and planning for the next phase of their lives. The competitions were sponsored by the USAID. Sustained initiatives like those that help to foster teamwork and social skills need to be revisited and funded. These are some of the activities that did not continue after the project ended which lead to resurgence in levels of unrest and a view by some residents that nothing tangible had resulted.

I must re-state that it is disingenuous to suggest that the model cannot be replicated, since no major player had documented or confirmed an intent to replicate the actual model as it exists, in totality, in the identical form in Grants Pen. WHAT CAN BE REPLICATED IS THE COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT, THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE ORDINARY CITIZEN AND OF COURSE, the philosophy of Community Policing that already forms a core part of the philosophy of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Policing Methodology.

Finally, we must decide what our specific targets are and agree to a specified time within which to achieve them. Even more importantly, we must tie our targets strategically to our resources, both human and financial, so that it is absolutely clear who will execute what, and what resources will be necessary to carry out the desired targets. We must also remember that trust is fragile - trust that was already non existent or at best unstable, cannot be restored by a two-year project. Even the Stella Maris Foundation that has a track record of service for over ten years cannot take for granted this priceless fact. IT TAKES YEARS TO BUILD TRUST, AND IN AN INSTANT IT CAN BE ERODED - with one omission or commission. I love my country and believe in its greatness, but I have serious concerns with its ills. I fear that we will continue to fail, if we fail to set realistic, clear and honest targets. We cannot truly speak about failure or success of any initiative without clearly defining and agreeing to targets, from the onset, not along the way or at the end of a process.

In part two of this document, I will outline what further goals, objectives that can be reasonable built upon. I will also summarize specific targets that were achieved notwithstanding specific shortcomings that are yet to be overcome. Finally, I will expand a bit more on “THIS BUSINESS OF CRIME”.

Omar C. Frith: General Manager, Stella Maris Foundation – hekau.amen@gmail.com
& Chief Executive Officer, TRANSCON – frith.inc@gmail.com