Additional legislative support to further boost public safety and citizen security will be pursued in earnest by the Government during 2019/20. “Addressing crime and violence is one of the most challenging tasks that require practical initiatives supported by robust legislative and policy frameworks. In furtherance of securing Jamaica, this year, the Government has allocated significant capital expenditure for National Security...

The Government will spend $498 million to increase the fleet and capacity of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) to be able to adequately respond to emergencies. The sum has been set aside in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. Under the Acquisition of Fixed Assets Project, which is being implemented by the JFB, an agency...

The Government has allocated $110 million to renovate the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s head office at National Heroes Circle and its Caenwood Centre facilities on Arnold Road in Kingston, during the 2019/20 fiscal year. Details are provided in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project is titled ‘Renovation and Modification of Caenwood...

Manager of the Kingston Restorative Justice Centre, Roydon Hall, is appealing to churches to promote restorative justice. “Nationally, I am appealing to the church to promote restorative justice, because we are taking the same messages of the church islandwide,” Mr. Hall said. He was speaking to JIS News at the 10th Conference on Restorative Justice, held recently at the Spanish...

A sum of $638 million has been set aside in the 2019/20 Estimates of Expenditure for the HIV Prevalence in Most-at-Risk Population Reduced Project. The funds will go towards increasing safer sex practices; strengthening care, counselling and treatment services; and addressing stigma and discrimination among vulnerable and high-risk groups, including men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex...

The Government has set aside $500,000 to develop a national repository in the Ministry of Transport and Mining. The trifold repository will comprise the Transport Statistics Database, Transport Research Databank, and the Geographic Information System (GIS) database. Funding for the undertaking has been made available in the 2019/2020 Estimates of Expenditure, which was tabled in the House of Representatives on...

We Transform programme director in the Ministry of Justice, Ella Ghartey, is urging researchers to conduct more studies as it relates to youth and crime. Speaking with JIS News at the recent University of the West Indies (UWI), Research Days 2019, held on the Mona campus, Ms. Ghartey, pointed out that such research is important in formulating effective programmes and...