Police

“Police dem a wicked n’ a tief…soldier not so bad”

According to the papers, life in Kingston begins to return to normal. Dudus has not been captured. Until he his, seems like you’d have to call the whole operation a failure. My quote of the day comes from The Observer’s Twitter feed: “Dem say Dudus hold us hostage but it Bruce [The P.M.]. Mi wana go look for mi son.…

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Police

Di President dat and anything possible wid him

I know it’s wrong, but I’m kind of starting to root for Dudus. Of course I can’t really root for cop killers, but this is one guy taking on two entire nations. And, at least for now, he’s winning! Plus, the more I learn about Jamaica the less I want to root for the government. They’re crooks. And not in…

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Police

US Ends ‘War on Drug’

Sounds like an Onion headline but it’s real. The Drug Czar himself said, “I ended the war.” You’d think this would be big news in America. Did we win? [thanks to Drug WarRant]

Police

Stupid Drug Story of the Week

I read this stupid AP story and it set off warning bells in my head. “ULTRA-POTENT HEROIN… MEXICAN DEALERS… $10 BAGS KILL UNSUSPECTING USERS INSTANTLY… NEEDLES STILL IN ARM AT THE DEATH SCENE!!!” OK, the caps and exclamation points are mine, but you get the idea. It’s a little strange because people who die from heroin overdoses rarely suspect it…

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Police

Oh, Jamaica

Gun battles seem to be the order of the day. Police officers have been killed. There’s also looting. But a police spokesman says about the business district, “There was some shootings last night but some amount of calm has returned.” Phew. A state of emergency has been declared that basically give police carte blanche to do what they want. Prime…

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Police

“He does what the government doesn’t do for us”

Jamaica is a rough place. 2.7 million people and 1,500 homicides. That’s a higher homicide rate than Baltimore… but lower than Baltimore’s Eastern District. It’s also dangerous for police, with 5 official line-of-duty deaths per year (though I suspect many more police die in less official ways). Jamaican police are known to kill a lot of people, probably between 150…

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Police

Police Chief Endorses Marijuana Legalization

Sometimes, as our drug war continues unabated, it’s easy to forget just how much progress has been made in fighting prohibition. Just a few years ago this kind of talk from an active police chief was inconceivable. It’s the kind of talk that encourages honest debate. Which is just what we need because advocates of the drug war will not…

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Police

Only in Baltimore

How come when I see a headline “Woman Loses Home Over $362 Water Bill” I just know it’s talking about Baltimore? Where else could this happen? Sho ’nuff…