Artifact 1-

It makes us all sad,

The fires and lightening,

The troubles and frightening,

All because of violence and crime,

There’s no way to turn back time,

Spanish Town is now a war zone,

Someone has to speak in an angry tone,

It’s turning into a total disaster,

Much, faster the trouble and crimes wouldn’t get away.

Cause everyone thinks it’s something to stay,

We’re having these problems everyday,

No one can’t even stand up and say,

Violence and crime is causing the trouble,

If it goes on the trouble might double.

Artifact 2-

2:17

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Psychological Impact of Crime on Jamaicans | TVJ News

 

Crime negatively impacts Jamaica's

developed country target
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Published:Thursday | November 16, 2017 | 12:00 AMSteven Jackson

Dr Wayne Henry

Crime and lack of security have led the island to miss annual development
targets under its Vision 2030 plan aimed at giving the island developed
country status in under a generation.
"No area related to security, justice or governance met or exceeded the
2015-16 target," said Elizabeth Emanuel, programmed director, Vision
2030 Jamaica Secretariat, at the Planning Institute of Jamaica's (PIOJ)
quarterly press briefing in New Kingston on Wednesday.
The secretariat tracks the progress of the country in four broad goals in
order to compare movements annually and also with the 2007 baseline
year. The goals are that Jamaicans are empowered to achieve their fullest
potential; the Jamaican society is secure, cohesive and just, Jamaica's
economy is prosperous, and Jamaica has a healthy, natural environment.
Goal two, that the Jamaican society is secure, cohesive and just and goal
four, that Jamaica has a healthy, natural environment, are areas of greatest
concern for the country, Emanuel said.
"Notwithstanding, indicators such as the control of corruption index, voice
and accountability index, and category one crimes per 100,000 are
showing some movement towards the target," she said..
The greatest gains for the country related to goal three, progress under the
macro-economy. Under that goal, 46 per cent of the targets were either met
for 2016-17 or moving towards meeting the targets.
"The greatest gains related to annual inflation, debt to GDP (gross
domestic product), nominal GDP per capita, and the health of the tourism,
energy, agricultural sectors. Targets were either met or found gains moving
towards the target," Emanuel said.
Crime holding back growth
Crime and other supply-side constraints are holding back growth in
Jamaica and, by extension, Vision 2030, said director general of the PIOJ,
Dr Wayne Henry.
"Crime affects social stability as well as discouraging domestic and
international investment. At the firm level, it introduces uncertainty and
inefficiency in the production process, as it imposes a cost on firms as well
as limits the production time," Henry told stakeholders at the quarterly
press briefing.
The Inter-American Development Bank conducted a 2014 study which
estimated that crime-related costs for Jamaica amounted to 4.0 per cent of
GDP. Comparatively, agriculture contributes some 6.0 per cent of GDP.
Growth constraints
Other growth constraints include human capital development such as lack
of training, skill mismatching, export of skilled labor and underemployment.
Another constraint is the uncompetitive business environment.
"These constraints create increased costs and uncertainty in the business
environment and adversely impacts the country's competitiveness," Henry
said.
The PIOJ revised downwards its forecast for the growth for the current
fiscal year to between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent.
Rains earlier in the year, which hurt agriculture and also contributed to the
late start of production at the Alpart refinery, led to its downward forecast,
said the PIOJ. Earlier this year, the state agency projected 2.0 to 3.0 per
cent growth for the fiscal year.
Henry added that the country should remain focused and disciplined in
order to realis greater levels of economic growth. Concurrently, the PIOJ
revealed that the country grew by an estimated 0.9 per cent for the
September quarter 2017.
During the quarter, the island received an uptick in visitor arrivals due to
diversions caused by storm activity in other Caribbean destinations.
The total number of employed persons as at July 2017 stood at 1.2 million,
an increase of 29,000. According to Henry, it remains the highest
employment ever for a single month in the island in a decade. This
employment represents a return to levels found in 2008 at some 1.17
million. Subsequently, those levels dipped due to the recession.