Wehby urges stronger crackdown on unexplained wealth
Senator wants security budget exhausted in ramping up crime fight
Published:Saturday | November 12, 2022 | 12:09 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter
Government Senator Don Wehby is pushing for an amendment to the Proceeds of Crime Act to allow for unexplained wealth orders as a means of bolstering the country’s response to crime.
Unexplained wealth orders have been introduced in other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom to help law enforcement to identify and seize assets or property suspected to have been acquired by laundered criminal funds.
“Cutting off the financial means of these criminals is crucial to tackling the financial aspect of crime,” Wehby said during his contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday.
The businessman and lawmaker further called for the legislature to debate amendments to the Telecommunications Act to improve law enforcement’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.
“This would include telecommunications providers expediting requests from law enforcement to provide customer and call data information, and requiring them to retain the data for longer periods,” Wehby said.
He noted that the criminals’ operations are very structured and involve the use of technology to facilitate their operations locally and overseas. This fuels violence and the trade of drugs and guns, Wehby noted, adding that the right resources are needed for an effective response from the State.
‘INTERNATIONAL WARFARE’
Wehby also indicated that the country may need more expertise to fight crime.
“This is an international warfare with criminal gangs all over the world. Do we need to ask for more help from our long-standing partners, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, or anywhere else? Essentially, what I am pointing out is that, if we need help, we should ask for more help.”
The government senator also raised concerns about the pace at which capital expenditure was being utilised for national security, an issue highlighted by Senator Peter Bunting in the Upper House last week.
It was noted that only 17 per cent of the capital budget for national security has so far been spent this fiscal year.
“As you are aware, based on accounting procedures in Government, if you don’t use it, you lose it. With crime being the number one problem in Jamaica, this is unacceptable. Persons we put in charge must be held accountable,” Wehby said.
He called on the ministers of national security and finance to establish a special implementation committee to determine why the capital budget is not being disbursed and ensure that the funds are released by the end of the fiscal year. He suggested that the committee further ensure that, going forward, the right resources and expertise are made available to execute these investments.
Wehby said that Jamaica had the fiscal space to invest more in the social sector, and, as such, the capital budget should be fully utilised for the financial year.
“There should be no excuse for it not being implemented. With the economy moving in the right direction and the debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio going down, more funds will be available to spend on the social sector, of which crime prevention is paramount,” he explained.