The House of Representatives, on Tuesday September 30, passed the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) (Amendment) Act, paving the way for the removal of criminal records against the names of persons convicted for possession of, or smoking small quantities of ganja. The Bill also removes the additional rehabilitation period prescribed in the Act (1988) and adjusts the rehabilitation period prescribed...

Custos of St. Ann, the Hon. Norma Walters is assuring members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) that they have the full support of every Justice of the Peace, (JP) in the parish, in their efforts to fight crime and violence. Custos Walters gave the commitment as she addressed the launch of a ‘Unite for Change’ forum and First Responders...

Newly appointed Commissioner of Police, Dr. Carl Williams, says he will be increasing efforts to improve relations between the police and citizens in a bid to fight crime. In an interview on the JIS programme, ‘Issues and Answers’, on September 26, the Commissioner pointed out that fighting crime is a shared responsibility, as the police cannot do it alone. “This is...

National Security Minister, Hon. Peter Bunting, says the thinking by many people that the solution to crime and violence rests with law enforcement, has to be changed. “Law enforcement has an important role to play, but if we think it is only law enforcement that is going to fix our crime problem, then we are seriously mistaken. The truth of...

Portland is the country’s safest parish, with the lowest murder rate at 10 per 100,000 population, the latest crime statistics have revealed. The figures, for the period January 1 to September 20, were announced by National Security Minister, Hon. Peter Bunting on Thursday, September 25, at the annual general meeting of the Realtors Association of Jamaica, held at the New...

Under the Government’s intensified and sustained crime fighting strategies, there has been an 18 per cent drop in murders between January 1 and September 20. This translates to 708 murders, compared with 856 for the similar period of 2013, and the 1,074 recorded for 2010, which was 35 per cent higher than the current figure. Making the announcement, on September...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, has called on realtors to ensure that they do due diligence, when engaging in transactions with clients, as part of efforts to stamp out illegal activities, including money laundering and narcotics trafficking. “You may consider this (doing due diligence) as an unnecessary burden…but if our financial institutions are to be integrated into the...