KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sep. 26, CMC – Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced measures to stem the upsurge in violence in the western parish of St. James.
Holness who toured volatile areas within the parish on Sunday said one such measure is the establishment of a coast guard post in the tourist resort town of Montego Bay.
He told journalists at a press conference held following the tour, that the aim is to aggressively tackle the flow of weapons into Jamaica under the guns for drugs trade
“Ninety percent of the crimes committed are committed by weapons and that speaks to a major problem with the control of our borders (such as ) guns coming in.”
It was also disclosed that increased deployment of the security forces and upgrading police stations are some of the medium and long strategies to be pursued .
Holness also said operations at the St. James Police Division will come under review based on the crime situation, an increase in the population and the need to protect the tourism sector.
“We have to empower our police and military with support of the police with legislation that is relevant and application to the crime situation that we face. More will be said about that when we go to parliament. One things is certain is that the security forces may have to do far more searches than they do presently.”