THOMPSON... I don't care if you are male or female. I pick up a file and I read it and if the ingredients of the offence are made out, we prosecute you with the same level of energy - male or female
No ease up on female criminals, says deputy DPP
SENIOR Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson says while women might not line the docks with their male counterparts in gang trials, females are still being tried for offences.
“Outside of the anti-gang trials, when we are not able to prove that they are members of a gang or participating in a criminal organisation, we are able to put them before the courts for other offences. So, they are in the Gun Court — they are being tried for possession of unauthorised weapons or for illegal possession of firearm. They are charged for aiding and abetting, or for wounding, or for murder,” Thompson said as she pointed out that while the women may not be registered as gangsters because they are not being tried under that rubric, they are before the court.
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Thompson was responding to a question from a member of the audience during the launch of the most recent study conducted by think tank Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) titled ‘Hits and Misses: Women in Organized Violence.’
The audience member, whose comments came during the question-and-answer segment of the forum, described women as “low hanging fruit”, stating that they “should be prosecuted though indirectly involved in criminality”.
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“Women are facilitators, instigators… should there be a policy push to target the women as low-hanging fruits to deter crime? Should we be changing the policy to prosecute the woman who wants a bad man, so if it is that you are wanted and I was found in your home then automatically you are locked up?… Is it time for us to move the policy to where we can see real change by grabbing at the low-hanging fruit which it seems that our women are?” the audience member asked.
In response, Thompson said, “They are not low-hanging fruit. They are being tried for other offences. Additionally, they are agents because they assist us with the prosecutions.
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“So, even though they are not going in the witness box, they are not swearing on the Bible and giving evidence, they are providing intelligence… the police will tell you they have provided intelligence, and some of them, they continue to provide us with information. So, they are assisting with law enforcement-type activities and they are assisting with prosecutions, so it’s not low-hanging. And, I can say to you the women are being prosecuted and we don’t discriminate,” the senior deputy director of public prosecutions stated.
Added Thompson, “I don’t care if you are male or female. I pick up a file and I read it and if the ingredients of the offence are made out, we prosecute you with the same level of energy — male or female.”
CaPRI, in the study, said its findings debunked reports by law enforcement agencies and media which have increasingly suggested that women play active roles in organised criminal groups.
According to CaPRI, arrest and incarceration data do not support claims of rising female participation in violent crime.
“Women remain a small minority in Jamaica’s criminal landscape, with arrests and incarcerations primarily for non-violent offences such as drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering. Female arrests for violent crimes, including murder and shooting, are rare and typically involve domestic or interpersonal conflicts rather than gang-related violence,” it said. Further, the think tank said the majority of the crimes women commit are non-violent, or category two crimes, such as fraud, drug trafficking, burglary, and public order offences which do not involve a threat of harm or an actual attack upon a victim.
It said prison admissions in 2021 tell the same story, with women making up a negligible share of prison admissions for all crimes.
“Women made up only 3.3 per cent of all admissions to correctional facilities in 2021, showing their small presence in Jamaica’s prison population. Men accounted for the vast majority of offenders across all crime categories, with particularly wide gaps in violent crimes. While 51 men were admitted for murder or manslaughter, only five women faced similar charges. No women were incarcerated for sexual offences, assault, burglary, or shooting with intent, which is consistent with arrest data showing that women are rarely charged with direct acts of violence,” CaPRI said.
It however noted that “women’s admissions were highest in breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act (four women), forgery and fraud-related offences (three women), and illegal possession of firearms (three women)”.
According to CaPRI, these offences suggest that women’s roles in crimes relate to facilitation rather than direct involvement.
“The data aligns with broader research findings that indicate women’s criminal activity is more often linked to financial crimes, low-level drug offences, and supporting roles in organised crime rather than direct acts of violence,” the think tank said.
