JAMAICA | Phillip welcome's PSOJ's Call for Dialogue on Crime

Dr Phillips said the PNP is ready for those talks and had proposed the holding of such meeting during Vale Talks in January but it has not been held because Jamaica House continues to say that the Prime Minister is unavailable.  

The PNP continues to insist that the government must tell the country what is the plan to deal with the ongoing crime crisis, which is affecting several townships such as May Pen, Savanna-La-Mar, Montego Bay and Spanish Town.  The current upsurge in crime is now being reflected in the crime data released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) where the murder, shooting and robbery for January to June 2019 have surpassed the corresponding period for 2018.

The Shadow Minister of National Security, Fitz Jackson, M.P., has been pointing out for some time that the states of emergency (SOEs) and zones of special operations (ZOSOs) cannot be the end-all responses to the upsurge of crime. The situation requires a comprehensive strategy which must incorporate the views of civil society and other critical stakeholders, Dr Phillips reiterated.

Dr Phillips said the PNP, therefore, stands ready to participate in any sponsored discussion by the PSOJ which addresses the continuing upsurge in crime across the country as it is evident that the government does not seem to have a solution.

He said, as far as the PNP is concerned, there can be no more delay in getting this discussion on the way to address this most urgent matter because the incidents of murders, shootings, robbery and aggravated assault, and crimes against children are rising and affecting several communities.

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