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Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding has ordered an immediate investigation into the breach of security that took place at the Sangster International Airport, in Montego Bay, St. James, that resulted in a hostage incident involving a Canjet aircraft on April 19. A successful rescue and release operation by the Jamaican Security Forces, on April 20, resulted in the man...

The hostage incident at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St. James Jamaica involving a young man armed with a gun who forced his way through security check points and onto a CANJET chartered aircraft has been resolved, without any harm to the 159 passengers on board and the eight crew members. At approximately 6:40 am (Monday, April 20)...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding says that he is encouraged by the commitment of the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, to give more assistance to the Caribbean and Latin America to reduce piracy and gun and drug running through the region's waters. Speaking following a Plenary session during the 5th Summit of the Americas in...

Jamaica's Ambassador to Washington, Anthony Johnson, has called on the American government to put strong legislation in place to stem the trafficking of small arms to Jamaica and other Caribbean territories. The Ambassador, who is Jamaica's Permanent Representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), was speaking to JIS News yesterday (April 16), prior to his departure for Trinidad and...

In an effort to combat crime and violence in Cedar Grove, Manchester, members of the community, in collaboration with the Mandeville Ministers Fraternal and Northern Caribbean University (NCU), staged a stakeholders forum on April 16, at the Cedar Grove Seventh Day Adventist Church. Residents identified several areas for intervention, which could result in the reduction of crime and violence and...

Locked away in the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston, a maximum security prison, for the past four years, Seth Rogers*, is not daunted by his imprisonment, but has been occupying his time productively by teaching his fellow inmates computer skills, and is also integrally involved in the prison's radio station. Mr. Rogers is President of the Students Expressing...

The Ministry of National Security's efforts to transform poor communities affected by violent crime, will be boosted this year with a budget allocation of $211.5 million to strengthen community-based organizations(CBOs) and support community policing. The funds, provided by the United States' Agency for International Development(USAID), will be used to, "help transform poor underserved communities beset with violent crime, and to...

Approximately $76 million will be spent by the Ministry of National Security this year, on acquiring specialised vehicles for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure state that the procurement will improve the investigative capability of the JCF, by increasing its mobility. It is envisaged that the acquisition of the vehicles will help to increase the clear-up...

The Citizens Security and Justice Project (CSJP) will be enhanced with the provision of $964 million, as stated in the 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives. The project, which got underway in September 2001, through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank, aims to prevent and reduce violence, strengthen crime management capabilities, and improve the delivery of...

The capacity of Government and targeted communities to attain a more peaceful, secure and just society, will be enhanced with an allocation of $18 million in the 2009/10 Estimates of Expenditure, for the Jamaica Violence Prevention and Sustainable Development Programme. This project, which commenced in January last year, has to date been successful in setting up the Ministry of National...

Finance and the Public Service Minister Audley Shaw, has advised that several arrests have been made in the recently uncovered car stealing ring, involving employees of the Tax Services Department, and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The racket, he says, involved the illegal registration of motor vehicles using fictitious titles, the removal of liens from titles, and the placement of...

Twenty four members of the Island Traffic Authority and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), were presented with Certificates of Participation and Transcripts, on April 3, to signal their successful completion of a month-long introductory course in Jamaican Sign Language and Deaf Culture. The training, which was facilitated by the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD), aimed to sufficiently equip the...