One week after releasing a video in which he outlined his wide-ranging plan to fight crime in Jamaica, outspoken veteran deejay Admiral Bailey is claiming success, while giving props to the under-fire minister of national security, Dr Horace Chang.
“The minister has started to act. You see what happen at Stadium East this week? The police went there with sniffer dogs and see, dem find five guns. Dem never use the helicopters, but dem carry the bulldozers and dig up the place. That is crime-fighting,” Bailey told The Gleaner.
In the video, which went viral, the dancehall deejay and former football coach, now technical director, recommended that soldiers and police be sent on intelligence-based operations using canines specially trained to find illegal firearms. He does not believe that there is anything coincidental about the fact that days after his recommendation, the police, aided by the Canine Division, undertook an operation at the National Stadium east field in St Andrew and excavated a total of five high-powered weapons, magazines, and a cache of ammunition.
Another of Admiral Bailey’s strategies for fighting crime was the empowerment of licensed firearm holders. He reiterated that he knows of instances where such citizens refuse to intervene when crimes occur because of the “pressure” that follows.
“When the licensed firearm man dem intervene and fire two shot, dem get treated like a dem a di criminal. Carry dem down a station fi investigate, dem take weh dem gun, INDECOM come, this yah man come and investigate. Nuh man nuh have nuh time fi dem stress and pressure deh. If you deputise dem and make dem know, say ‘We need you fi help out the security force fi help fight crime’, watch and see how much crime solve and how much crime prevent,” Bailey said in the video.
He pointed to news items carried this week which indicate that Minister Chang has declared that the Government will take another look at laws that allow citizens, not just licensed firearm holders, to assist the police in tackling crime.
“I understand that things take time … and you sometimes have to go to Cabinet for approval, and therefore your hands are tied. But what I am getting from Minister Chang is that he is willing to listen and tek constructive criticism. He is not egotistic,” Bailey stated.
He added that if there was one recommendation that he would like to take back, it is the one stating that Chang should resign.
“From I was slow leaking – cause mi neva bus’ yet – I used to jump on a bus from Cockburn Gardens to Waterhouse to go to the studio, and I always pass a set of youth on Wailers corner. One day dem sey to mi, ‘Admiral, a full time now yuh stop tek bus, yuh know.’ Bwoy, ah felt so bad, but when me siddung and think about it, dem did right. I used that criticism to motivate me to buy a car, and then I drive go round there and buy the whole a dem a drinks. So, it is up to you to decide whether yuh going to use the criticism to move towards a more positive outcome,” Bailey said.
The entertainer made an impassioned plea for all citizens to unite and fight crime, regardless of political persuasion.
THIS IS MADNESS
“Police crime statistics show that Jamaica had 112 murders in the first 23 days of 2022. This is madness, and that is why I got so fed up that I had to mek di video and post it. We can’t wait for this monster to come to our own doors before we start to bawl out. We have to go at it with everything we have right now. My research shows me that we can’t allow hanging because we are still tied to Britain, but we can implement some stiff penalties, like 30 years if you are caught with an illegal firearm; and up to 200 years if you use that gun to commit a crime. The whole world know that me is a Labourite, but that don’t factor into any recommendation that I am making. This is not a politics thing; this is a Jamaica thing – Government, Opposition, me, lickle man, big man, everybody,” Bailey said.
In closing, he added with a laugh, “Tell those in charge to give me a call, and we can sit down and discuss in [detail] how to tackle this crime problem.”
Admiral Bailey, who enjoyed his greatest success between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s, is known for songs such as Big Belly Man, Ole Time Something, Jump Up, Think Me Did Done, Science Again, and many more.
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