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<span style="font-style: italic">Gun control - Int’l consultant hired to help stem flow of weapons
Gun control policy to address imports, exports and transshipment
BY COREY ROBINSON Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
GOVERNMENT has sought the help of an international expert to develop a national policy to stem the flow of small arms into the island — the prevalence of which has been blamed for the country's year-to-year high murder rate.
The consultant, a woman whose identity has not been disclosed, began her six-month contract on June 9 and will also look at legislation on explosives and all firearms.
<span style="font-weight: bold">National Security Minister Dwight Nelson made the disclosure yesterday during a joint press conference with United States Army General Douglas Fraser at his ministry in New Kingston.</span>
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“We have engaged the services of an international consultant with wide and vast experience in the area of small arms policy, who will develop new approaches to the control of small arms whether legally or illegally,” Nelson said. “[They will also] look at amending our laws, address anything relating to armament, explosives, etc.”
Meantime, Woodrow Smith, technical advisor in the ministry with responsibility for implementing the gun control programme, <span style="font-weight: bold">declined to disclose the consultant’s fees, only divulging that she “came well recommended”.</span>
“This individual has worked with a number of international bodies. She is from an entity, the Small Arms Survey, a graduate institute based in Geneva, Switzerland... and has also worked with the UN disarmament unit,” he said.
“The objective is to ensure a level of control within the society so that we can eliminate, as far as possible, crime and violence related to gun use; and at the same time, those control measures will also include the question of [dealing with] importation, exportation, transshipment,” he explained.
Smith also listed as part of the consultant’s responsibilities, the assessment of security operations at the island’s ports in keeping with international standards, stock management within law enforcement agencies, and a review of the Firearms and Gunpowder Acts.
In 2008, the United Nations Children Fund and the UNFPA called for steppedup efforts to stem the trafficking of illegal guns to Jamaica, noting that “gun control combined with long-term social interventions are critical to curb the armed violence” that has permeated the country.
Yearly crime statistics show that illegal guns have been featured in the majority of homicide cases.
The Government has for years been pleading with the United States to address the high number of weapons flowing illegally into the island from that country. According to the most recent Small Arms Survey, most firearms seized in Jamaica are traced back to three counties in Florida, “all of which have large Jamaican populations”.
“Most small arms used in crimes are believed to have entered the country illegally, but much of the ammunition appears to have entered the country legally before being transferred to illicit markets,” noted the survey.
These weapons are smuggled into the island in television sets, refrigerators, barrels, and motor vehicles, among other items.
Last year alone, 674 illegal guns were taken off the nation’s streets.
Yesterday, General Fraser said that he was not authorised to speak on the issue but said his visit was a demonstration of the co-ordinated approach needed to address drugrelated crimes in North America and the Caribbean.
“We share a very close partnership with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF)... focusing on what I consider the biggest concern that we have throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America; a non-traditional military threat,” he said.
“It’s a great privilege to be here, and there is nothing better than being able to talk to one another face-to-face in an effort to address these issues,” he said.
In addition to meeting with the national security minister, General Fraser met with Prime Minister Bruce Golding and visited the headquarters of the JDF. He departed the island yesterday evening.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gun-...1#ixzz1UfDT4FAK
Gun control policy to address imports, exports and transshipment
BY COREY ROBINSON Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
GOVERNMENT has sought the help of an international expert to develop a national policy to stem the flow of small arms into the island — the prevalence of which has been blamed for the country's year-to-year high murder rate.
The consultant, a woman whose identity has not been disclosed, began her six-month contract on June 9 and will also look at legislation on explosives and all firearms.
<span style="font-weight: bold">National Security Minister Dwight Nelson made the disclosure yesterday during a joint press conference with United States Army General Douglas Fraser at his ministry in New Kingston.</span>
</span>
“We have engaged the services of an international consultant with wide and vast experience in the area of small arms policy, who will develop new approaches to the control of small arms whether legally or illegally,” Nelson said. “[They will also] look at amending our laws, address anything relating to armament, explosives, etc.”
Meantime, Woodrow Smith, technical advisor in the ministry with responsibility for implementing the gun control programme, <span style="font-weight: bold">declined to disclose the consultant’s fees, only divulging that she “came well recommended”.</span>
“This individual has worked with a number of international bodies. She is from an entity, the Small Arms Survey, a graduate institute based in Geneva, Switzerland... and has also worked with the UN disarmament unit,” he said.
“The objective is to ensure a level of control within the society so that we can eliminate, as far as possible, crime and violence related to gun use; and at the same time, those control measures will also include the question of [dealing with] importation, exportation, transshipment,” he explained.
Smith also listed as part of the consultant’s responsibilities, the assessment of security operations at the island’s ports in keeping with international standards, stock management within law enforcement agencies, and a review of the Firearms and Gunpowder Acts.
In 2008, the United Nations Children Fund and the UNFPA called for steppedup efforts to stem the trafficking of illegal guns to Jamaica, noting that “gun control combined with long-term social interventions are critical to curb the armed violence” that has permeated the country.
Yearly crime statistics show that illegal guns have been featured in the majority of homicide cases.
The Government has for years been pleading with the United States to address the high number of weapons flowing illegally into the island from that country. According to the most recent Small Arms Survey, most firearms seized in Jamaica are traced back to three counties in Florida, “all of which have large Jamaican populations”.
“Most small arms used in crimes are believed to have entered the country illegally, but much of the ammunition appears to have entered the country legally before being transferred to illicit markets,” noted the survey.
These weapons are smuggled into the island in television sets, refrigerators, barrels, and motor vehicles, among other items.
Last year alone, 674 illegal guns were taken off the nation’s streets.
Yesterday, General Fraser said that he was not authorised to speak on the issue but said his visit was a demonstration of the co-ordinated approach needed to address drugrelated crimes in North America and the Caribbean.
“We share a very close partnership with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF)... focusing on what I consider the biggest concern that we have throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America; a non-traditional military threat,” he said.
“It’s a great privilege to be here, and there is nothing better than being able to talk to one another face-to-face in an effort to address these issues,” he said.
In addition to meeting with the national security minister, General Fraser met with Prime Minister Bruce Golding and visited the headquarters of the JDF. He departed the island yesterday evening.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gun-...1#ixzz1UfDT4FAK