Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck is reiterating calls for Jamaicans to report criminals within their communities.

Chuck was speaking during a commissioning ceremony for justices of the peace (JPs) on Thursday (December 29) at the Holiday Inn Resort in Montego Bay, St James.

A total of 43 JPs-designate from St James were officially commissioned during the ceremony.

During his address, Chuck took the opportunity to urge the new JPs be peace makers and help in the fight against crime in the country.

“I am urging you to be peace makers, not to go out there and do police work, do not intermeddle. However, you must be the ears, eyes and voice of your community. Where you know of abuses, where you know of criminality, corruption, indiscipline, disorder and lawlessness, bring it to the attention of the police.”

He also encouraged the JPs to work along with the police to help in the effort to tackle crime across the island.

“JPs, I urge you to attach yourselves to one of the many police stations across the island. In other words, every police station should have a community police management group. Now, that is what I have set up in Grants Pen and I know it’s being developed right across the parishes. It is through these groups that I have been able to neutralise all the dons and gangs so you don’t hear much conflict in my constituency,” Chuck said.

With this, the minister is urging JPs and the wider Jamaican society to report wrongdoers to the police.

“If you don’t want to be an informer, tell the custos and the custos will tell it to the police. As I often tell my community, I am the biggest informer. Every lawlessness in my community I tell the police. Everywhere I hear that guns are, I tell the police. So, we must now be very proactive because, if we are not proactive as decent law-abiding citizen, the criminals and gangsters will run ‘ruption’ over us.”

Chuck noted that criminal activities carried out by gangs is not alien to the rest of the world.

“Let me say this, gangs, dons and gunmen are not a Jamaican problem, it’s a modern problem. If you go to any big city or most towns in North America or Europe, gangs create havoc,” he said.

He also made mention of Caribbean neigbour, Haiti, where gangs have taken control of the island.

“We cannot allow that in Jamaica and we must never ever feel that the gangs can control us. We must do everything in our power to ensure that the gangs are neutralised.”

Chuck said the prime minister and the police were doing everything within their powers to not only deter but to capture as many gangsters as possible.

The minister noted young men between 15 and 25 tend to find comfort with their peers and those who have nothing worthwhile to do always find something ‘idle’ or ‘unworthy’ to do.

“That is how you get gangs being formed and, when they form, these gangs their main focus is power; how they can get power and they will ensure that they control communities with that power and what gives them the power is the gun,” he continued.

Chuck noted that he will be going about to urge citizens right across Jamaica, especially the churches.

“We need to ask the families, the girlfriends, mothers, sisters, fathers to expose where the guns are.”

The minister said the Government is determined to take the guns off the street, but the police don’t have enough manpower to find all of them and that is why family members need to report those among them who are involved in criminal activities.

“What you should know is that, when a gun is hidden in your home or around your house, it is a suicide bomb you have right there in your house. Because when you have it there, the rivals of the hoodlum who has it in the home will want it and they will come to get it. I can tell you; an illegal gun is not to protect anything – an illegal gun is to kill,” said Chuck.

“That is why I am saying together we have to find a way to get these guns off the street because if we don’t these gangsters will continue to create havoc in communities across Jamaica.”

The minister encouraged the JPs to be beacons of hope who will help in making the country become a better place.

“Jamaica can be a better place and I urge each of you to be a beacon in your community, be a beacon of civility, decency and honesty, be the person with character that others will want to emulate. So, I ask you to make your light, as you go about your community, shine very brightly that others may see your good work and glorify our Father who is in Heaven,” Chuck said.