Dancehall figures want JCF to collaborate fully with creators

Dancehall supporters and industry professionals believe the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) use of song lyrics and slangs of deejays to raise awareness on crime in social media campaigns, though effective, can be seen as "slightly hypocritical".

In a recent press conference Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson said that statistics from Crime Stop showed a 97 per cent increase in tips from the public when compared to the same period in 2021.

"The majority of tips were related to illegal firearms and ammunition, gunmen, wanted persons, and we have also seen an increase in reports relating to lottery scamming and drugs," he said. The JCF said that the increase is as a result of the social media campaigns. Anderson added that, apart from the direct seizure of firearms and ammunition and arrests, the tips also contributed to the JCF's overall intelligence picture and investigations.

"It is clear that our citizens are recognising the people who are damaging our society for what they are, the architects of by death, maim and game," he said.

However popular producer CJ The Chemist believes that local lawmen have been given an opportunity to be creative in their posts using expressions of recording artistes, but they have yet to collaborate with dancehall players to see how best everyone can live peacefully.

"The same thing used fi promote positive solutions is the same thing the police a fight," he told THE WEEKEND STAR, adding that seeing them use the songs and slangs shows that it is not all badness in dancehall, "but just what appeals to the people".

CJ The Chemist is the producer of Skeng's Gvnman Shift, which is one of the phrases used in a post on the JCF's Instagram page last month urging persons to call Crime Stop with tips on illegal guns, gunmen and gangs.

"I do have to applaud them, because I am with anything to fight crime. But the way it is used to appeal to people is contradictory of the negative comments people are used to hearing from the law enforcers. To some dancehall supporters, it may come off as hypocritical. So they need to look into themselves and see how best they can meet the dancehall, offer some type of leniency, and make the people dem enjoy it," he said.

Meanwhile Coote Boss, member of the Ravers Clavers dancehall outfit and creator of the 'Rifle Walk' dance move, described the JCF's efforts as a "big move and a big look".

"When I made the dance move, it was not to mean any badness. It hailed police and soldiers, [so] to see them using even the name of the dance as a way to capture the people attention is a good thing. People may not know my face but, some place in the country and around the world, they know my name and the dance name. Other dance, other song out there them can use but just give the dancehall its credit. Same time, it just shows say dancing and dancehall can do great things and have great impact," Coote Boss said.