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The Government has agreed to the establishment of a pension programme for District Constables as a component of the 2010/2012 Heads of Agreement with the island's police groups. Another notable feature of the agreement is that the police groups will forego wage increase for the period. Speaking at the signing of the agreement at the Finance Ministry's Heroes Circle offices...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, says the recent incident where five women were raped in Montego Bay should be a watershed for Jamaicans to stand against criminality, and expose criminals to the security forces. "This horrible incident can be a watershed, a turning point, an opportunity for all people of goodwill in Montego Bay, and in Jamaica, to...

Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Sandrea Falconer, said that all well-thinking Jamaicans must stand up against brutality, especially when it is directed at women and children. She was speaking yesterday morning (September 26) in the wake of the brutal attack on five females in Irwin, St. James. The victims, ages eight, 14, 16, 23 and 28, were attacked in their...

The South Camp Road Rehabilitation Centre, in Kingston, is being renovated at a cost of $65 million to accommodate the island's female inmates and juveniles. This facility previously housed male inmates, but is being remodelled to accommodate inmates from the sole female prison - Fort Augusta.  The land on which Fort Augusta is located, as well as surrounding parcels, were...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, said that the Government is placing focus on prevention and control measures as it works to curtail crime in Jamaica, which is seen as the main impediment to the country's economic and social prosperity. "We just completed a National Security Policy and one of the things it identified was that crime, violence and...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, says the long-awaited Montego Bay branch of the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) should open within one month. He said that focus is now being placed on the staffing and refurbishing of the office, which will be located in Bogue. "We have already located and rented the office…we are going to have it staffed...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, says plans are far advanced for the Evidence Act to be amended, which will allow for the appearance of witnesses by video, for possible prosecution of lotto scammers. "It is very difficult to get prosecutions for scamming and we have no specific legislation that deals with 'advanced fee fraud' which is the generic...

Lotto scammers in Jamaica would soon be extradited to face charges overseas. National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, said it is his understanding that a number of cases are being worked on by foreign law enforcement agencies.  Extraction falls under the Ministry of Justice.  “I would not be surprised if in due course, we see extradition requests coming,” he told journalists...

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) on September 7 received a donation of 10 brand-new Volvo buses, valued at approximately $300 million, in support of their crime fighting efforts. The buses, which will be distributed equally between the two entities, were provided by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC). They were officially handed over by...

The Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID) has made a major breakthrough in a highly publicised cyber crime, involving the unauthorised posting of nude photographs of hundreds of women on a local website. The police, on Monday (August 27), arrested and charged a 27-year-old man, who it is believed to be at the centre of the crime. He has been identified...

Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Antony Anderson, and senior Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) officers, were in Washington D.C. last week for discussions on objectives for Jamaica as part of the National Guard State Partnership Program.  The visit, from August 21 to 24, included meetings with senior officials of the US Department of Defense, US Army and District of Columbia National...

The Department of Correctional Services has begun issuing uniforms to inmates as part of attempts to improve conditions within local correctional facilities. Speaking with JIS News, Commissioner of Corrections, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Prendergast, said the government will spend $12.4 million to provide the inmates with uniforms. He added that the roll out of the uniforms is being done on a...