CMOC Commends Gains Under National Consensus On Crime

The Crime Monitoring and Oversight Committee (CMOC) is commending the Government for strides made under the National Consensus on Crime.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Monday (February 14), the entity’s Chairman, Lloyd Distant, said that progress has been achieved under some of the eight pillars of the consensus, which is geared towards transforming Jamaica into a safe, secure and investment-friendly society.

He noted that the overall improvement in the structure and recruitment processes of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has been a “significant reform”. Transformation of the JCF is one of the pillars of the consensus.

“There are a lot of good things going on in the JCF. When you look at their retraining, how they actually promote persons, the organisational structure, and infrastructure development, those have all gone well,” Mr. Distant said.

He noted that the Government has been making a major investment in improving the JCF.

“To see the funds put into the JCF transformation in 2018 and 2019, that averaged about $2 billion a year. We got $20 billion in 2019 that went into the Ministry of National Security and a lot of that provided the impetus for the improvement and growth in that area,” Mr. Distant said.

Turning to other achievements, Mr. Distant told JIS News that the National Commission on Violence Prevention (NCVP) is in place and operationalised, and it is doing a lot of work.

He noted that the NCVP, which falls under the pillar of Social Community and Cultural Transformation, is one of the key deliverables under the consensus.

“It has a great strategic plan. We recognise that the work to be done is going to take several years. There are no quick fixes; it is not overnight, but we see the NCVP playing a critical role in addressing crime,” he said.

Mr. Distant said that CMOC is enthused about the work being done under the Community Renewal Programme of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), noting that there is a solid framework in place with a good set of metrics used to determine what is required to improve a particular community.

He noted that CMOC is also pleased with outcomes under the pillar of Justice System Reform, including the opening of two new restorative justice centres last year.

He said that the progress being made under this pillar was evident during the recent observation of Restorative Justice Week.

“The process, the construct and framework used to engage people in the community – this is the kind of change we want to see in Jamaica. We are very pleased to see that,” he said.

Mr. Distant also cited legislative achievements, including the passing of the Public Bodies and Management Accountability Act, the passing of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) Regulations in Parliament last year, and the tabling of the Firearms Act last week.

“Certainly, the Firearms Act has been one of those that we have been tracking,” he noted.

CMOC, which was established in 2020, is an independent body, comprising nonpartisan stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, academia, and the political directorate, with a mandate to set goals aimed at mitigating crime, and report to the public.