Police to focus on cutting illegal income from guns, drugs and scamming
Published:Saturday | March 9, 2024 | 3:08 PM
Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang, says the police will "reorganise and focus" on tackling the problems of illegal gun imports, illicit drugs and scamming.
Chang, addressed the Standing Finance Committee meeting of Parliament earlier this week and was answering questions from Opposition member of parliament Anthony Hylton about illegal guns and ammunition imports.
“Guns, drugs and scamming remain the three big sources of criminal income and the police will certainly reorganise to focus on them,” Chang said.
He added that while there has been some amount of success, there is still some way to go and, as such, more resources are being pumped into the ministry, especially in the area of technology.
Regarding illegal gun entry to Jamaica from the United States, Chang said the US system is hurting Jamaica.
“The Americans have a system which assures their citizens of the right to bear arms, their constitutional right, and it's hurting (us),” Chang stated.
Illegal gun imports into Jamaica are mainly from the US. The gun is the main weapon used in most murders in Jamaica, where there were just over 13,550 homicides for the decade 2014 to 2023.
Chang said Jamaica's response is to strengthen its border control, particularly at the legitimate ports.
He disclosed that Jamaica has increased collaboration with US agencies, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security, regarding illegal firearm export from the US.
The minister also said there has been an increase in the recovery of illegally imported guns.
“We're getting better at intercepting the ports because a lot of the guns come in through the ports; the coastal monitoring also improves, we haven't been able to announce a lot but we know we have intercepted a fair amount,” Chang said.
- Carl Gilchrist
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