Implement gun crime legislation now

WESTERN BUREAU:

WITH A number having been murdered in St James since the start of the year, Montego Bay Mayor Leeroy Williams is urging the Government to fast-track legislation that will severely punish perpetrators of gun crimes and persons who are in possession of illicitly-obtained firearms.

“It is time that the legislation that seeks to create severe penalties for traders of illegal firearms and ammunition, as well as persons with illegal possession of firearms, should be promulgated and implemented. I am, therefore, calling on the Government to expedite this process, so that the murder by guns can be curtailed,” Williams said Thursday while addressing the St James Municipal Corporation’s (StJMC) monthly meeting.

Williams, who is chairman of the StJMC, pointed to the brutal gun slaying of municipal officer Jermaine Evans, who was shot and killed along with his uncle, Peter Stewart, on December 31. The men were ambushed and shot several times by gunmen while driving along the Friendship main road in the parish.

“We at the StJMC have not been spared the spectre of death, as one of our municipal police was brutally murdered on New Year’s Eve. Even now, a pall of gloom overshadows the municipal corporation as we mourn the death of the self-assuming, hardworking and law-abiding municipal police officer,” said Williams.

“Our security forces, in spite of the intelligence-gathering and hard work they have been putting in, still have a tremendous battle on their hands to get the desired results. It can only mean that tougher measures will have to be put in place to curb the insatiable appetite these criminals have for murder,” the mayor added.

Councillor Michael Troupe, the StJMC’s minority leader and councillor for the Granville division, suggested that Williams should hold a stakeholder meeting with St James’ leading figures to determine a viable strategy to arrest crime in the parish, which recorded 157 homicides during 2021.

“Whatever number of deaths there is, it is a concern for you, me, and St James, and we cannot continue with the strategy we used last year. I think that as the person in charge, you need to call a forum with all the stakeholders in St James, as to how you will keep the crime at a manageable level,” Troupe told Williams. “We have lost a member of our staff, and none of us is safe.”

“It will be done before the next council meeting,” Williams replied, though he did not propose a date for the suggested meeting.

Meanwhile, Councillor Charles Sinclair, the StJMC’s representative for the Montego Bay North East division, voiced dismay that no representative from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) was present at Thursday’s meeting.

“I am disappointed at the fact that this is the first meeting (for 2022) and nobody is here from the JCF. We should be hearing what we can expect going forward, and right now we need an immediate law-enforcement response in order to tackle what is happening,” said Sinclair.

Among the more recent murder casualties in St James are 25-year-old Oshane Spence and 15-year-old Toni-Ann Reid, who were shot dead by gunmen at a house in Roehampton district on Wednesday morning.

Additionally, on Thursday the body of a nine-year-old child was found in the Fairfield community, hours after reportedly having been abducted in a motor vehicle which was hijacked by criminals.

Christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com