Government Will Not Relent in Fight Against Human Trafficking – Palmer

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Carol Palmer, says the Government remains unrelenting in the fight against human trafficking.

Addressing Seventh-day Adventists at their convention at the West Jamaica Conference Centre in Montego Bay on August 27, Mrs. Palmer said perpetrators involved in the crime will be caught and the law will take its course.

“We take this work seriously. It is something that affects any and every person living in our country. Breaking the silence can help stop violence and that’s why I am driving this fight as long as the Government will permit me, because I shall not be quiet,” she said.

The Permanent Secretary  emphasised   that Jamaicans, being religious people, must do more than just attend church, adding that the time has come for law-abiding persons to rise up and take back the society from evil persons.

“It is not enough to come to church Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday or Friday, whichever day it is, and you go back home, lock the grill and think you are safe. They can tear down that grill and disarm the security system,” Mrs. Palmer said.

She explained that human trafficking is a transnational organised crime and the Government is determined to find those involved, even if they are in church.

“Stop it, because we are coming for you, and even if you are a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, which has the largest membership in Jamaica, we are coming to get you. It doesn’t matter who you are,” Mrs. Palmer warned.

The Permanent Secretary said human trafficking is the most extreme form of abuse and the issue has grown to epidemic proportions.

“While most of the world was not paying attention, human trafficking stole a march on us and now it is an epidemic that we are trying to play catch-up (with),” she noted.

Mrs. Palmer pointed out that there have been nine prosecutions for human trafficking, 115 prosecutions for offences akin to trafficking and there have been four convictions this year.

“We are doing a serious march on human trafficking in this country and we will stop at nothing to tackle it,” she said.