Tue | May 14, 2024

JCF being equipped to battle transnational crimes

Published:Saturday | September 17, 2022 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang (centre); Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson (left) and Senior Superintendent of Police Wayne Joseph, head of the Westmoreland police division speaking with journalists at a media briefing on securi
Albert Ferguson
National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang (centre); Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson (left) and Senior Superintendent of Police Wayne Joseph, head of the Westmoreland police division speaking with journalists at a media briefing on security issues in Savanna-la-Mar at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Frome Police Station in Westmoreland, on Thursday, September 15.

WESTERN BUREAU:

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang has revealed that the Government, in its quest to tackle organised transnational crimes, will be outfitting the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) with an integrated coastal surveillance radar system to improve their apprehension capabilities.

A costal surveillance radar system is the primary sensor that is capable of detecting images such as fishing vessels in heavy seas and clutter environment across all weather conditions.

“The Jamaica Defence Force will have a coastal radar in position very soon, that will assist in disrupting the transnational criminal activities that take place throughout Jamaica and contributes to bringing in the firearms that are used to kill our citizens,” said Chang.

“Essentially, we have to get the big operators who are at the head of creating the kind of destruction we are having, in which people are provided with firearms, money and bullets to kill our citizens,” added Chang.

Dr Chang outlined the security plan while delivering the keynote address at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Frome Police Station in Westmoreland, on Thursday. The Frome police station is one of 15 police facilities across the island, which is being rehabilitated, and will become a part of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) microwave network.

“We will not only rehabilitate the (police) microwave network, but we will also be completing a network to cover the entire island,” said Chang.

This move to technologically outfit the JCF is part of the effort to bring down large criminal networks, especially as it relates to the illicit trafficking of illegal firearms, which remains a significant challenge for Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. Approximately 23 per cent of all recorded homicides, which is approximately 15.1 per 100,000 people, puts Jamaica about three times the world’s average.

The police have reported that 1,089 people were murdered in Jamaica between January 1 and September 14. Of the number, 842 involved the use of the gun. In addition to those killed, 799 people were injured in gun-related incidents.