CMOC Satisfied With Monitoring Of Crime Consensus

The Crime Monitoring Oversight Committee (CMOC) says it is satisfied with the established monitoring arrangements for the National Consensus on Crime.

The consensus is an agreement involving the Government, Opposition, civil society, and the private sector to support a process to transform Jamaica into a safe, secure, and investment-friendly society.

It outlines the steps that should be taken to achieve a sustainable reduction in crime, inclusive of milestones and key performance indicators.

CMOC is the body tasked with monitoring the implementation of the consensus and reporting to the public.

Speaking with JIS News, Executive Director of CMOC, Lt. Colonel Oral Khan, said the committee meets on a monthly basis to discuss areas of progress on the consensus.

“We consider data on the various indicators that have been established as measures of progress in the implementation of the consensus agreement. We examine the reports, which have come in to the CMOC, and based on the data that we receive, we do our analyses. CMOC is fairly satisfied with the institutional arrangements that are in place for the monitoring and oversight,” he said.

Lt. Colonel Khan noted that CMOC pays keen attention to the actions taken by the various ministries, agencies and departments (MDAs) and the stakeholders with a role in executing the consensus.

“Once we have settled on our assessments, CMOC has a responsibility to report to the Jamaican public on how well the entities are doing with the implementation phase of the consensus,” the Executive Director said.

In addition to its monthly meetings, periodic engagements are held with various stakeholder groups to get information on issues they are facing as part of CMOC’s established monitoring arrangements.

“We meet with the Commissioner of Police; we delve deeply into some of the issues and we learn about some of what may be slowing progress. We are also able to get a very good appreciation of how implementation is going. We meet with the citizen security plan secretariat, which has a responsibility for monitoring all those activities that contribute to social, community and cultural transformation,” Lt. Colonel Khan told JIS News.

There are also subcommittees, which focus on the various pillars of the consensus. These subcommittees give detailed attention to aspects of the agreement that require a targeted approach.

“We have subcommittees dealing with the JCF transformation, social, community and cultural transformation and the various other aspects, and they are diligently carrying out their work,” Colonel Khan noted.

He said that CMOC wants to engage the wider public to take ownership of the consensus.

“Turning the situation around requires not only a whole-of-government approach, but it requires all of the nation of Jamaica. We want the people to take ownership of their piece of the consensus agreement because we need the people to carry forward the objectives,” he said.

CMOC was established in 2020 and is an independent body, comprising nonpartisan stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, academia, and the political directorate, with a mandate to set goals aimed at mitigating crime.