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Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington, says charges have been laid against 16 of 60 detainees still in police custody, who were picked up during the two-month State of Public Emergency. Speaking at a media briefing at the Commissioner's Office, Old Hope Road, Kingston Thursday (July 22), Mr. Ellington said that they have been charged with serious offences, ranging from murder...

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is determined to carry on its operations to restore security, peace and order in Jamaica, despite the sudden ending of the State of Emergency in Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine, says Police Commissioner, Owen Ellington. "The work which we started on May 23 is not over. It could not have been completed in the...

Police Commissioner, Owen Ellington, has announced a series of multi-pronged anti-crime strategies, which come into effect today (July 22), following the expiration of the State of Public Emergency in Kingston and St. Andrew, and St. Catherine. Among the strategies, Mr. Ellington outlined, are: the mounting of curfews in at least five targeted areas, beginning tonight (July 22), and cordon and...

The Citizens Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) is taking a holistic approach to assisting residents of West Kingston in the aftermath of security operations in the area. Programme Manager, Simeon Robinson, tells JIS News that the CSJP is engaged in discussion and counselling sessions with the residents, and is participating in and providing support for activities, organised by other groups....

The Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, has announced that a strategic plan will be implemented Friday (July 23), to enable the security forces' anti-crime efforts to continue beyond the current State of Emergency, which ends midnight Thursday. "We must continue the battle. We cannot allow the gains that have been made over the past two months to be lost....

The Alligator Pond Police Station, Manchester, received a facelift after it was damaged during a disturbance involving the police and persons attending a New Year's Day event earlier this year. After the incident, a number of ex-police officers responded and painted the station while, recently, Alpart and its Community Council, and the Alligator Pond community, replaced damaged windows and did...

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Dr. Kenneth Baugh, has said that criminals and gangs linked to transnational criminal networks threaten new opportunities for development and progress in developing countries. "Crime is the single most important deterrent to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and accelerated tourism growth. Recent events in Jamaica have laid bare the magnitude of the threat,...

Jamaica's Ambassador to United States, Her Excellency Audrey Marks, is appealing to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the Jamaican Government's bold efforts to establish sustainable socio-economic intervention programmes in vulnerable communities "so that we don't allow gangs to rule those communities again". Addressing a USAID roundtable on the issue at its headquarters in Washington DC...

Seventy Officers of the Department of Correctional Services were honoured on July 8 for long service and good conduct, during a ceremony at the Terra Nova Hotel, in Kingston. The recipients comprised Overseers, Staff Officers, Corporals, Warders and Wardresses. In a message read at the awards ceremony, Minister of National Security, Senator the Hon. Dwight Nelson encouraged the Officers to...

Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, has said that the State of Emergency imposed on sections of the country in late May, could not have continued indefinitely or for a prolonged period. Speaking on his monthly radio programme, 'Jamaica House Live', on July 28, the Prime Minister said a society must never become accustomed to living under emergency powers. "It...

Police Commissioner, Owen Ellington has assured members of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) that steps are being taken to ensure that they get the needed equipment to continue to carry out their duties effectively. "We have on order, some 3,000 bullet proof vests and helmets, which are likely to come into the island in batches during this financial year....

Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) President, Joseph M. Matalon, says that the fight against crime is not the sole remit of the security forces and the Government, but requires the input of the wider society as well. He was speaking at the PSOJ Chairman's Club Forum held last week at the Hilton Kingston Hotel. While noting the success of...