By Vernon Daley, Parliamentary Reporter
Phillips
NATIONAL SECURITY Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, will tomorrow tell the House of Representatives what the Government plans to do to curb the island's worsening crime problem.
The Minister, along with Police Commissioner Francis Forbes, last week came back from a five-day trip to Britain, where they reportedly reached a number of agreements with the British Government, including plans for the assignment of Jamaican police officers to locations in that country.
The Jamaican police will specifically assist the British law enforcement authorities to deal with Jamaicans involved in the trafficking of drugs from the island to the UK.
A press briefing was called last week to update journalists on the Minister's visit. However, it was called off at the last minute and a release from the Minister's office said he would speak to the House of Representatives, instead, on the Government's new anti-crime measures.
The National Security Ministry's release said that the press briefing was postponed "until further notice" and promised that Minister of Information, Senator Burchell Whiteman, would update the media on last week's deliberations of the National Security Council instead.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson chaired the meeting of the National Security Council at Jamaica House which looked at the new anti-crime plan.
"The comprehensive plan, which has been put forward for consideration, has been crafted in light of past experiences and with the benefit of recent analysis of both the historical and the current situation in the country," said a release from Jamaica House.
"The international dimensions of crime have also been taken into account. Most of the elements of the plan are in place and the legislative reforms to support aspects of it will be fast-tracked." It added that, in the meantime, Mr. Patterson had given instructions for the plan to be further fine-tuned for implementation.
The Council received reports from the Minister of National Security, the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Police and the Chief of Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force, Admiral Hardley Lewin, as well as the Director-General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Wesley Hughes.
Much anticipation has surrounded the disclosure of the new anti-crime initiatives, as concerns grow about the level of crime and violence in the country. Up to yesterday, 960 persons had been murdered in Jamaica since the start of the year. Most of those killings have taken place in the deprived communities of Kingston and St. Catherine.
