CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE JAMAICAN GUN COURT ACT.
Item
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Title
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE JAMAICAN GUN COURT ACT.
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Identifier
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AAI8708277
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identifier
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8708277
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Creator
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CALATHES, WILLIAM.
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Contributor
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John M. Cammett
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Date
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1987
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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This study analyzes the legal, political and social history of the Jamaican Gun Court Act. The Act was a governmental attempt to deter firearm violence. The harsh provisions of the Act remained virtually unchanged for a nine-year period, from its passage in 1974 to 1983, despite the passage of two amendments. The first major research question addressed is: (1) Did the Act succeed in reducing the incidence of firearm crimes?;This study also investigates the origin, operations, legal and sociopolitical implications of the Act. The Act is examined in terms of a society based upon a dependent economic system. This study investigates whether economic dependency, even following 20 years of political independence, persisted in defining much of the identity and management of a major piece of criminal legislation. The objective of an empirical and societal approach to this case analysis is to locate the implications of the Act within the broader patterns of Third World social development. An effort to link crime and justice in the Third World to the processes and effects of underdevelopment is made.;The study focuses on the role of interest groups. In this regard, the following research questions are addressed: (1) What were the origins of the Act? (2) Was the Act structured by competing interest groups or was it a passed Government fiat? (3) What interest groups supported/opposed the law? (4) How did interest groups affect the structure of the law? (5) How did the political system govern the roles interest groups played in relation to the law?;The study demonstrates that the Act reflected specific social policy choices that were the product of interest group activities. Few studies focus in detail on this process. One of the major problems with this research is that often criminal legislation is so broad and complex that interest group debate and motivation is difficult to document. The Gun Court Act provides an excellent opportunity for this kind of research because it was highly visible and a highly structured response to a major crime problem in a small nation.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Criminal Justice
