The Influence of Public Perception of Corruption and COVID-19 on the Implementation of National Security Policies and/or Programmes in a Caribbean Nation

Abstract

Introduction: Corruption has been a long-standingproblemin the Jamaican society. Successive administrations have promised strong anti-corruption actions, but in 2019 Jamaica fell from 70 to 74 on the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International, indicating the problem is getting worse. Despite this, there has been relatively little research on the full range of impacts that corruption has on national and citizen security.This study therefore seeks to answer whetherthe perception of political, business, and administrative corruption has negatively impacted Jamaica’s national security. Methods and materials: The study employed an associational research design and standardized instrument was used to collect data from 1,100 Jamaicans. A non-probability sample design was used to collect data from Jamaicans via way of Survey Monkey.Findings: The public perception is that the level of corruption in Jamaica is very high (2.6±1.3, 95%CI: 2.57 – 2.72, with the maximum being 4.0). Males are less likely to believethat there is serious corruption in Jamaica (70.7%, n=376) compared to females (83.4%, n=697; (?2(df=1) =5.847, P = 0.016).  Jamaicans indicated that the national security policies and/or measures implemented to protect the society are low-to-moderateeffective(86.4%) with 14.7% of males indicating that the effectiveness ofnational security policies and/or measures are high compared to 13.0% of females. Generally, Jamaicans do not believethat the national security policies and/or measures are protecting them, with males having a greater belief in the effectiveness of national security policies and/or measures than females. The findings revealed a negative statistical correlation between corruption and national security policies and/or measures, with the relationship being an exceptionally weak one (r_xy = -0.091 or -9.1%, P =0.003).This finding implies that corruption plays a minimal role on influencing national security policies and/or measures in Jamaica. A linear model can be established with selected independent variables (corrupt institutions, corruption index, COVID-19, gender, and age) on national security (F [5,896] =6.028, P <0.0001).Of the 5 independent variables chosen forexamination on national security, four emerged as factors of national security. The four factors are corrupt institutions, corruption index, COVID-19, and age. The four factors account for 3.3% (R²) of the variance in national security.Conclusion: These findings should help to framethe discussion of corruption in Jamaica.