Government has announced plans to crack down on two gangs it blames for many of the violent incidents taking place among young people.
Cabinet says two groups – ‘2Drilly’ and ‘Gray’s Farm Killers’ – are “at war” and that the bloody friction is “embedded” in local secondary schools.
Yesterday’s Cabinet notes revealed that the Prime Minister had identified two youth entities that had posted “images and veiled threats” on social media. The police unit tasked with tracking social media posts has captured the content and will take “vigorous actions”, they continued.
“The unit will also place ads on social media platforms, discouraging youth from identifying with these violent groups that utilise the same platforms to spread their evil,” the notes added.
Cabinet spokesman Minister Melford Nicholas told media at yesterday’s post-Cabinet briefing, “The 2Drilly have areas they refer to as ‘V Block’; we’re going to ultimately become familiar with these terms.
“There is another group that goes by the name ‘GFK’ which is an acronym that stands for Gray’s Farm Killers. These are the two groups that are at war with each other,” he explained.
“We don’t know from whence it started but it seems to be embedded in some of our secondary schools and what is actually happening is that there are retributions that are taking place.”
In response, anti-gang legislation is being introduced, which will address the use of social media by these gangs to highlight their targets and boast about their criminal acts.
This type of legislation will ultimately seek to “outlaw” gang activity.
“These two gangs have been very public in displaying their – for want of a better word – trophies of the various incursions they have had on each other,” Minister Nicholas continued, acknowledging that the police “could have made interventions earlier”.
“We are treating it as a matter of urgency to equip the police, even to make civilian personnel available to them, to facilitate a rapid improvement in the ability to utilise these platforms to gather intelligence and to interdict and prosecute these young criminals,” Nicholas added.
The government is also stepping up its support for law enforcement by providing essential resources.
These include cars, vessels, drones, radios, and other communication equipment worth EC$5.4 million aimed at bolstering crime-fighting efforts.
