Tips notifying the authorities of the activities of players in the lethal lottery scamming industry were close to 40 per cent of all crimes reported to Jamaica’s first dedicated anti-corruption and organised crime hotline last year.

The tip line, which was launched December 2022 by the Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) and Crime Stop Jamaica, provides an avenue for people to report fraud, embezzlement, bribery, government kickbacks, procurement breaches, and nepotism as well as organised criminal activity. Rewards for information leading to successful operations and arrests range from $10,000 to $1 million.

“Interesting trends have emerged, which may suggest a change in the attitudes of younger Jamaicans towards whistle-blowing and assisting law enforcement,” director of communications at MOCA Major Basil Jarrett said in mining the data.

“We have discovered some interesting trends which seem to suggest that younger persons are more comfortable and more willing to share information about crimes or other similar activities that they are aware of,” Major Jarrett told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday.

According to Jarrett, the vast majority of tips coming to the anonymous tip line have come through the agency’s social media pages, with the bulk of reports coming via Instagram. He said Instagram, which is mainly used by younger people, particularly millennials, is more popular as a tip-reporting medium, as opposed to Facebook which caters mostly to an older demographic. This, he contended, “possibly signals a significant departure from traditional norms of silence and reluctance to report crimes, which may be prevalent among older generations”.

“The influx of reports coming through Instagram suggests a transformative trend in societal attitudes towards sharing information related to crimes and criminals, and holding perpetrators accountable,” Jarrett argued. “It has been sparked by this generation’s increased comfort with sharing information online and could possibly signify an emerging determination to confront criminality and create a more transparent and accountable society.”

Jarrett said since the tip line was established it has received more than 250 clues.

“Every tip that has come in has been responded to, whether by MOCA or one of its law enforcement partners, and nearly 40 per cent of the crimes reported to the tip line were associated with the deadly lottery scamming industry. The remaining 60 per cent encompass a diverse range of activities, including cyber and cyber-enabled crimes, fraud and other financial misconducts,” he told the Observer.

MOCA created 888-MOCA-TIP as a means of allowing citizens to collaborate with law enforcement officials and increase community engagement in combating corruption and organised crime. The tip line is operated by Crime Stop, an entity which has never had a source revealed in its entire 34-year history, Jarrett emphasised.

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