While the World Bank has classified Jamaica as a “country in green”1 with respect to the likelihood of achieving its Millennium Development Goals,2 the country is still at risk of becoming a crisis country unless urgent action is taken to address its Rule of Law deficits. As was stated in Jamaica‟s National Security Strategy, “the rule of law is at risk.”3 The severe breakdown in the Rule of Law has resulted in a continued high level of crime and violence for a sustained period of time.
The estimated cost of crime in Jamaica is at least 4% of Gross Development Product including lost production, health expenses and public and private spending on security.4 Indeed, it can be persuasively argued that the sustained high crime and violence are major obstacles to sustainable development5 and that the situation has worsened significantly in recent years. In 2005, Jamaica had the highest recorded per capita murder rate in the world.
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