$380 Million for Citizen’s Security and Justice Project

The Citizens Security and Justice Project will benefit from $380 million to implement projects to prevent and reduce violence, strengthen crime management capabilities and improve the delivery of judicial services.
As contained in the 2006/07 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, the project, which began in September 2001, was granted further extensions in 2005 and is slated to come to an end in 2008.
The targets initially envisaged included the renovation of 10 multipurpose centres, transformation centre, and the public reception areas of selected police stations; retrofitting of the Kingston/St. Andrew court buildings; the acquisition and installation of 52 servers for the police and the Department of Correctional Services; and the procurement of equipment, furniture and a wide area network for the courts, Department of Correctional Services, the Ministry of National Security and the police.
It was also envisaged that under the project, motor vehicle for the Project Management Unit (PMU) would be purchased; violence prevention services would be provided through non governmental organizations (NGOs); and training in risk assessment provided for investigators of the Police Public Complaints Authority (PPCA), staff of the Victim Support Unit, Department of Correctional Services and the Family Court.
Achievements up to December 2005 include: the establishment of the PMU and the procurement of related furniture, equipment and motor vehicle; completion of training for 15 investigators of the PPCA; completion of 98 per cent training for the staff in the Family Court; establishment of trained community action committees in nine communities; completion of work by NGOs in six communities and the refurbishing of Kingston and St. Andrew court buildings as well as the procurement of furniture and equipment for courts.
In addition, activities were mobilized in 15 communities and the multipurpose centre in Tower Hill, Waltham Park was refurbished. It is expected that in this fiscal year, a rapid impact project will be completed in six communities; two police stations will be refurbished; turkey solutions (including software and hardware) will be procured; eight multipurpose centres will be refurbished as well as the procurement of furniture and computers for these centres and delivery of violence prevention services by six NGOs in 15 communities.
The project, which is funded by the Jamaican Government and the Inter American Development Bank (IADB), is being implemented by the Ministry of National Security and Justice.