Currently there are 18 known political garrisons throughout Jamaica. A garrison as many already knows, is an area in which criminal and political activity are tightly controlled by politically affiliated gang leaders. Historically, the political party that happened to be in power would use large-scale public housing projects to reward and geographically concentrate their supporters in garrison communities. Violent, politically affiliated criminal gangs would then enforce the political homogeneity of the garrison in exchange for a measure of exemption from law and order. At various points in Jamaica’s history both of the major political parties, the Jamaican Labor Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) have created new housing projects that have turned into garrisons. Several seats in Parliament are now virtually guaranteed for each party by the garrisons they control.
To date, 11 garrisons are under the control of the PNP while 7 are held by the JLP and the current majority party.
PEOPLE'S NATIONAL PARTY GARRISON CONSTITUENCIES:
- KINGSTON East & Port Royal -- Phillip Paulwell
- KINGSTON Central -- Ronald Thwaites
- ST ANDREW South West -- Portia Simpson Miller
- ST ANDREW East Central -- Peter Phillips
- ST ANDREW West -- Anthony Hylton
- ST ANDREW South -- Omar Davies
- ST CATHERINE South Central -- Sharon Hay Webster
- ST CATHERINE East Central -- Natalie Neita Hedley
- ST MARY Central -- Maurice Guy
- ST ANN South East -- Lisa Hanna
- WESTMORELAND Central -- Roger Clarke
JAMAICA LABOR PARTY GARRISON CONSTITUENCIES:
- KINGSTON West -- Bruce Golding
- ST ANDREW West Central -- Andrew Holness
- ST ANDREW North Eastern -- Delroy Chuck [*]
- ST ANDREW North Central -- Karl Samuda [*]
- ST CATHERINE Central -- Oliver 'Babsy' Grange
- CLARENDON Central -- Michael Henry
- ST JAMES North Western -- Horace Chang [*]
[*] constituencies with known garrison enclaves.
There has been no sustained political will to dismantle these garrison constituencies, and everyday life is deeply entrenched in crime, violence and political patronage. Unless there are deliberate and well-targeted policies to dismantle these constituencies and break the stranglehold that the political and criminal elements have on the residents, then they will never experience any sustained improvement in their quality of life.
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