Mayor links Mandeville crime uptick to scammer lifestyle

Champagne being poured over cars, money tossed into the air like confetti, and high-end liquor splashed across parties in viral social media clips are fuelling concerns about a dangerous culture of flashy excess that Mandeville Mayor Donovan Mitchell says is being powered by dirty money and linked to an uptick in violence in his town.

Mitchell has alleged that lottery scamming has played a significant role in the violence, arguing that some scammers relocated to Manchester from Montego Bay, St James and other areas of western Jamaica because of intensified policing.

“I don’t go to parties but, when I go on TikTok, you see the money throwing away and liquor washing cars,” Mitchell said in an interview with THE WEEKEND STAR. 

He continued, “You don’t have to ask where that money is coming from because nobody works their hard cash and treats it like that. And, based on what the police have said, most of the killings [in the parish] stem from lottery scamming and little gangs”. 

Data contained in the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Serious Crimes Report, up June 20, Manchester had recorded a
41.7 per cent in murders (17) when compared with the corresponding period last year. At the same time, shooting was up 36.4 per cent. The numbers are in stark contrast to the national picture, which shows murders down by 21 per cent and shooting down by 31 per cent.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Christopher Phillips, addressing the Mandeville Police Civic Committee’s annual general meeting and Top Cop Awards function in Ingleside, Mandeville recently, said lawmen have intensified operations through ‘Operation Reset’ in an effort to break up criminal networks and disrupt lottery scamming operations tied to violence.

“We are going to be targeting offenders [through] focused operations …,” he said.

Phillips, who is commander for the police Area Three, which comprises St Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon, said lottery scammers “who migrate from some other places because it was so uncomfortable for them to stay” are responsible for the negative trend being seen in Manchester.

“I want Manchester citizens to join me and tell them that Manchester is going to get uncomfortable. St Elizabeth is going to get uncomfortable for these players. Clarendon is going to get uncomfortable, because we are going to focus our efforts around them. Anywhere you have these scammers [there is] gunplay [and] violence, and we shan’t have it anymore in Manchester and, by extension, Area Three,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mitchell says lottery scamming has been manifesting itself in various ways in the parish, particularly Mandeville. 

 He pointed out that the parish’s growing number of apartment complexes and gated communities made it an attractive option, with people often renting properties for one or two years without residents fully knowing their backgrounds. He added that this constant movement in and out of communities contributes to the complexity of the situation.

Despite the recent uptick in violent crimes, Mitchell insists that the town has not lost the qualities that it is known for.

“Mandeville is still silent,” he said. “People are choosing to come here to live and travel to Kingston. We haven’t lost it a great amount. Mandeville is still Mandeville, it’s still a nice place, [and] the crime is not as bad as some areas.”