Top Toronto cop to study crime in Jamaica
Last Updated: Monday, February 10, 2003 | 12:03 PM ET
CBC News
Related
Video
- Beatrice Politi reports for CBC TV (Runs: 2:48)
- CBC News Morning's Harry Forestell gets an update from CBC correspondent Beatrice Politi, reporting from Jamaica. (Runs: 4:32)
play: RealMedia »
play: RealVideo »
play: RealMedia »
- FROM CBC TORONTO: The Jamaica Connection
Fantino has talked very little about the trip publicly, but the Jamaican government says the visit was prompted in part by a rash of violent crimes in Canada's largest city.
He will begin a series of meetings with authorities in Kingston on Monday, looking at everything from drug trafficking to community policy, before leaving Thursday.
Despite patrols by heavily armed security forces, Kingston's inner-city averages three murders every day. Gangs fight to control the streets, and most of the violence is over drugs.
Jamaica is located between drug-producing countries to the south, and drug-consuming countries to the north. With the narcotics and other contraband come guns and ammunition.
"We can expect the crimes that are happening in Jamaica to show up on the streets of Toronto, and the crimes that are happening in Toronto to have a relationship to Jamaica," said Kingston police Supt. James Forbes.
Last fall, nine young men were killed in a series of shootings in Toronto. One of the suspects, who was later murdered, turned out to be a Jamaican who was living in Canada illegally.
The slayings prompted Toronto's police chief to probe the possibility of links between gang violence in his city and deadly clashes in Jamaica.
Canada deports about 200 people back to Jamaica every year. In dozens of cases, the men and woman are being sent back because they've been convicted of crimes.
- FROM FEB. 7, 2003: Jamaican deportees denounce Canadian policy
There are no programs to help the deportees settle into their new lives on an island many do not know. Some were born there but grew up in Canada, and have no relatives in Jamaica or any money or other resources to get by.
Some people in Jamaica think that Ottawa's policy of deporting people is adding to the problem of crime in their country.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- U.S. bank reforms could hurt Canadians, Flaherty fears
- Canada's finance minister and the governor of the Bank of Canada have formally complained to their American counterparts that proposed banking reforms could harm Canadian banks, business, investors and the government itself. more »
- CBC digital music service launches today

- CBC is diving into the world of online music with the goal of providing listeners access to their favourite tunes, and a way to discover new artists and connect with fellow music fans. more »
- Ontario teachers' union calls for classroom Wi-Fi ban
- Ontario's Catholic schoolteachers are calling for hardwire instead of Wi-Fi in classrooms. more »
- Whitney Houston was found unconscious underwater, police say
- Whitney Houston was underwater and apparently unconscious in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel when found, Beverly Hills police said Monday. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Obama unveils $3.8T budget proposal
- U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion spending plan on Monday for 2013 that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. more »
- Greece cleans up after anti-austerity riots
- Firefighters douse smouldering buildings and cleanup crews sweep rubble from the streets of central Athens after a night of rioting during which lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures. more »
- Whitney Houston was found unconscious underwater, police say
- Whitney Houston was underwater and apparently unconscious in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel when found, Beverly Hills police said Monday. more »
- Grammy ratings surge on Whitney Houston tributes
- The 54th annual Grammy Awards pulled in its largest audience since 1984 on Sunday night, as the music industry paid tribute to Whitney Houston following her sudden death. more »
Dispatches »
- Inside Egyptian military's business web Feb. 13, 2012 2:26 PM When it got out of the business of war with Israel, Egypt's military got into the business of business. Over and under the table; on and off the books. Even using conscripts as cheap labour. CBC's Margaret Evans found shopkeeping generals rather reluctant to talk shop though.
Connect Newsroom Blog
Siege in Syria, Ship Rescue & The Pickton Inquiry Feb. 9, 2012 8:08 PM We'll talk to a Syrian-American doctor tonight about whether the Assad regime is using medicine as a weapon.
- 'Disgusting' court backlog may free hit and run accused
- Adele wins best album, best record Grammys
- Whitney Houston autopsy results withheld
- Whitney Houston was found unconscious underwater, police say
- Ice road closed after 2 incidents
- CBC digital music service launches today
- Quebec town 'heartbroken' after killing of woman, sisters
- Manitoba wants ER death lawsuit thrown out
- Greece cleans up after anti-austerity riots


