THE AMERICAN Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AMCHAM) will be assisting the Government in bringing a specialist team of American crime-fighters to the island to assist the police map strategies to reduce crime.
Becky Stockhausen, AM-CHAM's executive director, told reporters at a press briefing at the Hilton Kingston Hotel yesterday that seven members of the Washington D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), were expected in the island between the end of September and mid-October to undertake seven intensive days of information gathering on crime patterns in Jamaica.
The group is reported to have an impressive track record which includes working for the US Departments of State and Justice and significantly reducing the crime rate in a number of countries. It has been collecting information on Jamaica since May and while here will be carrying out mostly analytical work.
Both National Security and Justice Minister, K.D. Knight and Police Commissioner Francis Forbes who attended the press briefing welcomed the AMCHAM initiative.
During its one-week stay the PERF team is expected to interview key individuals in the Jamaica Constabulary, other agencies in the criminal justice system, government agencies, political parties, communities, businesses, faith-based organisations among others.
The team will also assess Jamaica's problems in the areas of illicit drugs, prostitution, money laundering, gang and other illegal activities and their relationship to violence and murder. Social and cultural influences and the part they play in domestic violence will also be examined. The justice system will also come in for scrutiny.
