Fred,Originally Posted by Fred Stripe
I cant believe I have to explain this to an ex-cop, but there are so many first time visitors and non-posters that read this board (tens of thousands each month) that I feel this needs to be addressed.
If an establishment lets you "break the law" as you put it, that does not change the fact there is still a law. The establishments are not law enforcement officials but they would have to take partial blame for the crime committed on their property.
As with any law, every time that it is broken does not mean that the violator is caught and charged. In your country is every shoplifter caught? Is every robber caught? Is every speeder caught? Is every murderer caught? Everyone knows the answer to this basic question, of course not! The police in any country cannot be everywhere at all times.
Your outdated info on "shakedowns" is just that. Every cop in Jamaica knows that "shakedowns" and "bribes" are being handled harshly. Even a senior superintendent of the police recently was convicted stemming from a single traffic ticket bribery attempt. Check last week's Gleaner and Observer for more. It was headline news for days. No one could miss it.
An $800,000 fine or 6 months in jail is something no cop wants to face over the outdated concept of getting pocket change for accepting a bribe or shakedown. I am sure there are still some practising this, but the numbers who do are down very significantly. There have been articles in the Gleaner and Observer each month pointing this out.
Ganja is in a strange legal limbo area at the moment. While being illegal, it will probably be legalized/decriminalized before the end of the year. Because of this, the cops are in a delicate situation. I have witnessed several different ways this has been dealt with. At times the offender is hand cuffed and led off to the Negril jail. But I have also witnessed the police approach a smoking tourist and they asked them to discard it and reminded them it was illegal. The tourist obeyed without a word and no money was exchanged nor was the tourist even searched. Had there been words, I am sure the outcome would have been different.
This seems to follow the way the police are handling all illegal smoking including tobacco in restricted areas. They are asking the violator to discard the smoke, and given a warning. But it is still up to the discretion of the officer to warn or take further action.
Ganja IS still illegal.
