ONE OF Jamaica's leading human rights groups wants the Government to consider a number of alternative measures for solving the serious crime problem in Jamaica, before proceeding with the six anti-crime bills now before Parliament.

Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, during a sitting of a joint select committee of Parliament to examine the proposed controversial anti-crime bills, head of Families Against State Terrorism (FAST),Yvonne McCalla-Sobers said the bills, if passed into law, would increase state power at the expense of citizens' rights.

Acknowledging that the country had a chronic crime problem, McCalla-Sobers questioned whether the Government had done enough to stem the flow of arms into the country.

Increased surveillance

She called for increased surveillance of the ports of entry and the targeting of locations that were commonly used for trafficking drugs and guns.

The human rights activist also wants the State to provide inner-city communities with increased social and protection benefits to reduce the governance role of criminal networks.

McCalla-Sobers is also pushing for the introduction of more technology to detect weapons without having to carry out intrusive searches.