PSOJ eager to see more progress in crime fight
Published:Saturday | April 15, 2023 | 12:53 AM
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is urging the Government to prioritise legislative reforms that will enable the police force and the justice system to tackle crime effectively.
The private sector body is also calling on the administration to provide updates on the enhanced security legislation, which it claims has bipartisan commitment.
In April 2022, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that the Enhanced Security Measures Act would be brought before Parliament shortly.
He said at the time that special emergency powers were needed to dramatically bring down murders.
However, to date, the legislation has not been tabled in Parliament.
In a statement on Friday, the PSOJ said that it met with the prime minister and leader of the opposition and gave its commitment to support a unified and collaborative response to Jamaica’s crime management.
It hailed the recent conviction of the leader of the One Don gang and 14 cronies, noting that it marks a win for the country’s anti-gang legislation.
The PSOJ said it is also encouraged by the 22 per cent decline in major crimes at the end of March, compared to the corresponding period last year.
“This is a positive development, given the negative impact crime has on our society and economy,” the private sector body added.
However, the PSOJ that said it remains concerned about organised crimes and the debilitating impact of gang violence and the illicit drug trade in Jamaica.
It observed that as at March 31, gang conflicts accounted for 67 per cent of murders, representing hundreds of lives being taken senselessly.
Further, the worrying pattern of murders blamed on interpersonal conflicts, which currently stands at 22 per cent, has also led to heightened concerns by the PSOJ.
“Additionally, violence-related injury data from our hospitals currently points to an urgent crisis on our hands in the management of other criminal activities, including blunt force trauma, stabbings, and burn attacks, which place enormous pressure on our hospitals,” the private sector group highlighted.
The PSOJ said that it is also eager to see more positive results on crime from the recently launched partnership between Jamaica and the United States law enforcement agencies.
The partnership is intended to provide resources, expertise, and information to the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigations Branch, the National Intelligence Bureau, the Financial Investigations Division, and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency to maximise the agencies’ ability to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to transnational criminal activity.
The private sector body said that stakeholders need to continue working collaboratively to disrupt the onslaught of crime and violence in Jamaica.
“While we can appreciate the progress reported by the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force), it is essential that we work to not only sustain these gains but also put in place the necessary measures to ensure we don’t backslide. This is the only way we can ensure that real progress is made in stamping out crime and not only short-term gains.”