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Jamaican posses, often referred to simply as ''posses'', are a loose coalition of
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
n gangs, based predominantly in Kingston,
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,
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and
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, first being involved in drugs and arms trafficking in the early 1980s. Jamaican posses have links to the main Jamaican political parties, the
Jamaica Labour Party The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party (as is the case for "Labour" parties in sev ...
(JLP) and the
People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local go ...
(PNP). The JLP posses dominate the west and south of Kingston and other smaller towns, while the PNP posses are mainly found in the eastern and central side; there are a few that state they are not allied to either political party. These are often in the northern slums of downtown Kingston. In the United Kingdom, these Jamaican gangsters would be referred to as yardies in reference to people who lived in "government yards" ("yard" is a Jamaican slang for home and surrounding areas). "Yardie" is an adjective describing any one from Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Charlie, which hit Jamaica in 1951. They are strongly populated in London and are specifically known to have occupied and operate in
Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th cent ...
,
Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west toward ...
,
Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...
, Hackney and
Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...
among other areas.


Violence

Jamaican Posse members are known for gun battles with the police and drive-by shootings in disputes with rival gangs over drug turf, as well as for ritualized murders of members who "rip off" profits on drugs. Posse members have little regard for public safety or human life. As part of their code, extreme violence is directed at anyone they feel has disrespected them or is in their way. Once in prison, however, their violence is savage but not regular. The alleged head of the One Order Gang, Andrew "Bun Man" Hope, was murdered in
Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label= Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. T ...
on 8 February 2006, which sparked a riot the following day.


See also

* Crime in Jamaica


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* * * {{cite news , title=Gang Suspected in Jamaica Killings , agency=Reuters , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/world/americas/14jamaica.html , newspaper=The New York Times , date=13 August 2010 Yardies Politics of Jamaica Jamaican diaspora Organized crime by ethnic or national origin Transnational organized crime Organized crime groups in Canada Gangs in Toronto Organized crime groups in Jamaica Organized crime groups in the United States Gangs in Florida Gangs in New York City