PhillipsGeorge Ruddock, London Editor
NATIONAL SECURITY Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, has told an audience of Jamaican nationals in Manchester, England, that Jamaica was winning the battle against crime, but that more needed to be done.
He was speaking at the launch of a three-city tour as part of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ)-sponsored Crime Forum which is aimed at canvassing the support of overseas Jamaicans in the fight against crime.
Dr. Phillips said: "There was no easy solution to fighting crime, but greater co-operation was needed from citizens, both at home and abroad, to make it harder for criminals to ply their trade. We will not let criminals destroy the good name of Jamaica."
He also reassured the audience that every effort was being made by the Government to get support from other countries like the United States and Britain to help stem the flow of narcotics into Jamaica as it is the profits from these activities which were fuelling the drug-related criminal activities in Jamaica.
Dr. Phillips said crime had been a deterrent to investment in Jamaica as more and more people were driven away to more secure environment.
Phil Sinkinson, Britain's Deputy High Commissioner to Jamaica, told the audience that his country was working closely with Jamaica to assist the police become more equipped to fight drug trafficking.
He also noted that the British frigate HMS Manchester had come to the end of its successful duty in the Caribbean Sea but will be replaced
shortly by another vessel. The frigate, while working alongside the United States Coast Guard had been successful in apprehending go-fast boats and other vessels over a two-week period.
In a lively question and answer session, the panel, which also included Deputy Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas and Superintendent Carl Williams of the Narcotics Division, the audience wanted answers to a wide range of questions.
These included the number of non-Jamaicans who were held at Jamaican airports trying to smuggle drugs out of the country. Mr. Sinkinson said his Home Office figures showed that there were over 125 British nationals in Jamaican prisons and many were young and from poor backgrounds which meant that drug dealers were targeting the very vulnerable in helping them to carry out their trade.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
In response to another question about the excessive use of force by Jamaican police in apprehending criminals, Dr. Phillips said the Police Force was being retrained in its apprehension procedures, but he also noted that over 12 police officers were killed in the line of duty this year.
On the question of monitoring of deportees, Commissioner Thomas said the judicial system was being looked at to ensure the legal rights of the deportees were not infringed, but they were exploring the use of electronic tagging as another means to keep track of their movements when they are sent back from overseas.
In his welcoming address, Oliver Clarke, past president of the PSOJ, said: "The PSOJ believes that if crime in Jamaica and crime among Jamaicans overseas is going to be solved then every Jamaican needs to work with the police and with the Ministry of National Security to stop it. We need to start giving information to the police about criminals and drug dealers.
"Jamaicans overseas are quite naturally concerned about the level of crime in Jamaica when they return home, and there are also quite extensive connections in terms of drug-dealing between Jamaicans at home and Jamaicans abroad and wherever we are, we need to step up now and stop it.
"The Gleaner, Jamaica National Building Society and the PSOJ have worked with the police and the Ministry of National Security and held meetings around Jamaica with the business community and we have had a series of meetings which included Fort Lauderdale, New York, Toronto and this tour in England which includes Manchester, Birmingham and London."
Also addressing the audience was Sir Bill Morris, former Secretary-General of Britain's Transport and Workers Union, who reiterated that co-operation by Jamaicans with the police at home and abroad was essential in the fight against crime.
