ZOSO curfew violators liable to $1m fine, prison time

Persons who breach a curfew without reasonable excuse in an area where a zone of special operation (ZOSO) is established could find themselves facing a fine of $1 million or a period of imprisonment not exceeding six months.

This provision forms part of the amended Law Reform (Zones of Special Operation) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) (Amendment) Act, 2023, which was passed with one amendment by members of the Upper House on Friday.

The legislation will also increase the period in which a person can be remanded from 24 to 48 hours.

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister Senator Matthew Samuda, who piloted the legislation in the Senate, said the amended law would also see the period for which a ZOSO can be declared increased from 60 to 180 days.

Under the amended law, a requirement will be introduced for a notice to be displayed upon the establishment of a cordon and imposition of a curfew. This is to enable persons in and around the ZOSO to be made aware of those activities.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Meanwhile, in her contribution to the debate yesterday, Senator Donna Scott-Mottley bemoaned the violence being unleashed on women and children in the society.

She noted that there was a time in Jamaica when women were killed and the entire society would be horrified by those developments. Additionally, she said that when children were murdered, the entire society would be galvanised into taking some action.

“Today (yesterday) as we debate this bill, I am calling on the people of Jamaica to recognise that we need to create not a plan for crime, not a plan to defeat criminality, but a movement. That movement has to involve each and every one,” she said.

She urged women in the society to take the lead in energising a movement to speak with one voice against the killing of women and children in the country.

“We need a movement against criminality, a movement where people can put aside their political persuasions, a movement where the sole goal is to save the lives of Jamaicans,” she added.

“The women have to recognise that they are burying their sons. The women have to recognise that their sons are fodder for the guns. The women have to recognise that the men with whom they sleep may have a loving side, but when they get up from that bed, they have a mission to kill,” she said.

She argued that Jamaica’s women have to recognise that it was their sons who are being hired as contract killers.

In his remarks, Government Senator Kavan Gayle described the crime situation as alarming and deeply troubling.

He argued that the continuous attacks on women and children in the country were distressing and that actions should be taken to bring an end to it.

Gayle said the fight against crime cannot be waged by any one group or entity even as he encouraged bipartisan support to tackle the scourge and called on all stakeholders to play their part.

The ZOSO legislation calls for the establishment of such zones when there is rampant criminality, gang warfare, escalating violence and where a threat to the rule of law is evident.