PhillipsJanet Silvera, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
SCOTLAND YARD police officers are to come to Jamaica to assist and train the local police with forensic investigations, while a number of the island's officers are to be stationed in Miami, New York and the Caribbean, Dr. Peter Phillips, Minister of National Security, announced yesterday.
In a face to face discussion with a wide cross-section of civic leaders, educators, tourism officials and transport operators at the Wyndham Rose Hall Hotel in Montego Bay, St. James, Dr. Phillips said that the recent arrests of several alleged drug kingpins in Montego Bay was a result of co-operation between the country and other nations. He called the arrests "a continuation of the work being done with overseas partners."
The policemen, to be stationed in the United States, are to ensure the exchange of information, while the London-based Scotland Yard will come here to assist in the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime, he said.
ANNOUNCEMENT WELL RECEIVED
The announcement was well received by the gathering, especially Chamber of Commerce president Winston Dear, who posed a question relating to a recent case involving three Montego Bay men who had their case thrown out of court, owing to insufficient evidence.
The Minister said lack of equipment was not the only disadvantage the police faced, adding that there was also the need for a public morgue to protect bodies from exposure to regular morticians.
On the other hand, the Minister was extremely upbeat about the prospects of the Proceeds of Crime Act, which could be implemented within a few months. He said the Act will strengthen the power of forfeiture, "allowing the power of forfeiture to extend to other serious crimes."
Dr. Phillips noted that the most effective way of blunting organised crime was to take the profits out of it.
"Taking away a kilo of cocaine from the drug pushers does very little to them, because the cost of producing cocaine is close to zero," he said.
