WASHINGTON, DC – Jamaica’s Minister of National Security, Hon Peter Bunting, says Jamaica has paid a high cost for crime. He noted that had we not had the exceptionally high levels of crime in the last four decades, our economy would be between three and ten times the size it is now.
Delivering the third lecture in the Jamaica 50 lecture series under the theme: “National Security in Jamaica since Independence” at the Silver Spring Civic Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on Thursday, February 21, 2013, he added that crime has affected our competiveness as we have been falling in terms of the world economic forum competitiveness index and it affects investor confidence.
Minister Bunting said as a result of economic constraints there have not been sufficient funds to spend on social services and to combat crime. Another challenge is the globalization and technological advances that have assisted legitimate commerce, but which has also assisted in criminal and illegitimate commerce.
“We are a transitioning society and in many ways, we look at the first world to be our examples and benchmark in terms of human rights” As a result, the police are under pressure to keep crime under control. At the same time, we should bear in mind that we are policing in a completely different environment than in the first world, said Minister Bunting.
The Security minister said that over the last few years, Jamaica has made major strides in reducing the flow of drugs in the island. In 2001 it is estimated that 21% of cocaine that ended up in the US market came through the Caribbean.
In 2012 that percentage was down to about 5%, with Jamaica only accounting for about one of that five percent whereas we were a major contributor ten or twelve years before. The minister noted that the legacy of the many decades of being a major transit country is that of growth of gangs as well as organized criminal organizations.
The minister pointed out that one of his goals is to reduce crime to first world levels by 2017, from 40 in 100,000 to 12 in 100,000. If this is to be attained, we have to do things radically, we can’t get there incrementally.
Minister Bunting told the over 100 participants that that there are plans by the government to increase the number of police and military personnel by 5,000 over the next 4/5 years and to add 500 new motor vehicles in the system over the same period.
The lecture series which is the brain-child of Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Stephen Vasciannie, was attended by the Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington, Director Public Prosecution, Paul Llewellyn, who, along with Ministers Bunting and Golding were visiting the Capital to participate in an Inter-American Dialogue on the lotto scam issue and measure being undertaken by Jamaica to address this scourge. Other attendees included Mrs. Lisa Vasciannie, former Jamaican Ambassador to the United States, Richard and Mrs. Bernal and Ambassador Curtis Ward and Mrs. Ward. The event was sponsored by the Jamaica National building Society, which was represented by Mr. Earl Jarrett, its General Manager.
