Jamaican government to tighten firearms laws

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang says laws on firearms offences will be reviewed and tightened to tackle gangsters who cause chaos in communities.

Chang, who visited Cherry Tree Lane in Clarendon, south of here, where eight people were killed and nine others wounded last Sunday, said the killings by men with high-powered weapons had shocked the country and the gangsters were being prosecuted.

He said that all legislation related to gun violence needs urgent attention, noting that “we (the government) will take all steps to protect citizens, prevent reprisals and arrest gang members.”

Chang, who is also deputy prime minister, said it was an act of terror against the community and that police were doing everything they could to catch the killers and “we will provide them with the necessary support”.

Since the incident on Sunday evening, a 96-hour curfew has been imposed in several municipalities in the parish.

Under the new Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act 2022, now in force, individuals convicted of possessing or dealing in firearms and ammunition could face sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment.

The legislation provides for a dual regime, distinguishing between prohibited weapons or unregulated firearms and related activities and firearms that are duly authorised or registered.

Illegal firearms are the cause of 85 percent of murders and violent crimes on the island.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Monday that authorities will use Sunday night’s killings to “deal with the gangs once and for all.”

“We cannot allow this incident to be treated as just another criminal act. It is not just a criminal act. Organized crime violence is an act of terror and we must treat them as criminal terrorists,” Holness told reporters after an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.

“The security forces have been instructed, operations are already underway at all levels. Intelligence… from the ground, we are seeking the support of our partners to get those who are abroad, who are facilitating, directing and financing the criminal operations here. No stone will be left unturned.”

Meanwhile, the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP0) has expressed “deep shock and complete condemnation of the horrific and senseless massacre” in Clarendon.

Clarendon South Western MP Lothan Cousins ​​described “this brutal act as unconscionable” and said it had cast a dark shadow over the community and left the families and friends of those killed and injured in immense grief and disbelief.

PNP leader Mark Golding said Jamaica is “sickened” by yet another depraved act of violence.

“There have been multiple murders in Clarendon over the past few years, this being the most egregious. I stand ready to work with the administration to take bipartisan action to bring this completely untenable situation under control,” Golding said.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, August 13, CMC

The post Jamaican government to tighten firearms laws first appeared on CNC3.