Gov’t open to help with crime fight
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of National Security, Robert Montague says the Government remains available and willing to partner with others who wish to join in tackling crime and violence in Jamaica.
He was addressing delegates at the two-day international conference on crime, which started this morning at the Jamaica Pegasus.
Montague said his ministry recognises the importance of having and maintaining strategic partners in its fight against transnational organised crime.
He explained that while globalisation has expanded international trade to the economic benefit of many countries around the world, it has also diversified the range of organised crime activities that countries such as Jamaica now face.
“This is a phenomenon that we have been, and we must continue to, confront head on. A loophole created in one jurisdiction affects neighbouring countries and consequently undermines the effectiveness of any multilateral efforts”, the minister said.
He reasoned that the broadening range of criminal activity can only be combated through concerted, strategic and collaborative co-operation at a global level.
Montague further explained that the Multilateral Summit on Crime is not only timely but also relevant because the world continues to face a series of complex and interconnected threats that, taken together, form a web of drugs, crime and violence.
He argued that Jamaica’s geographical position along the main drug transit routes — between the major cocaine producing and cocaine consuming countries — also factor highly in the country’s crime and violence situation.
“When we look critically at the Jamaican situation, the risk factors for crime and violence which essentially evolved around politics and economics in the 1970s, morphed to the illegal drug trade in the 80s and 90s, and now to organised crime including lottery scamming, the gun trade and cybercrime and human trafficking, today. This is furthered by globalisation and advancements in technology.”
The ongoing summit is focusing on ‘Combating Crime in an Interconnected World’.
The key outcomes for the summit will include action plans resulting from the sharing of intelligence to boost cyber security, combat gang activity and fight the trafficking of drugs and firearms, according to the security minister.