The National Consensus on Crime, signed in 2020, outlines a programme of measures for achieving sustained reductions in crime, violence and corruption, which would give a foundation for Jamaica’s future peace, progress and prosperity.

Legislative Reform was identified as one of the key measures. The Government, the Opposition and all of the other signatories of the Consensus agreed clear timelines for bringing about the necessary legislative reforms. It was agreed that these reforms were a vital part of the package, as they would greatly strengthen policing and Justice in Jamaica.
Most States that are governed by the rule of law undertake periodic reviews of their legislation to ensure that laws remain relevant, current and effective for the preservation of peace, order and good governance.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 advises that when punishment for breaking the law is not carried out quickly, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do evil. As this suggests, it is not sufficient that some evil act be made a crime in law if the law is rarely enforced or easily evaded, if the penalties are feeble, or if wrong-doers can readily escape detection or punishment.

Effective policing therefore relies on legislation that is clear, comprehensive, effective, and provides severe sanctions that will effectively deter crimes. An efficient justice system requires that the penalties outweigh the profits from breaking the law, and the goal of good enforcement is to ensure that there is a high probability that the criminals will be caught. And both policing and justice require the necessary human resources, up to date technology and equipment, and legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

In our democracy, the enactment and operationalisation of legislation comes at the end of a very lengthy process involving multiple consultations, reviews and layers of approval. This means that it is absolutely essential to have a clear set of priorities for what must be on the legislative agenda.

STRENGTHEN POLICING AND JUSTICE

Jamaica today has one of the world’s highest levels of violent crime. Large numbers of illegal guns are flooding into the country. And the State, for all its efforts, has been unable to check these problems. It is therefore essential to prioritise those laws that will most directly strengthen policing and justice, close the existing loopholes that allow criminals to escape, and apply the penalties that will do most to deter crime.

The Consensus 2020 Crime Monitoring and Oversight Committee (CMOC) acknowledges the passage in late December 2021 of the very overdue amendments to the regulations for the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) Act.  Vigilance by members of the public should now help to hold the State apparatus accountable for the effective application of the new regulations.

But there remain several crucial items on the Consensus’ legislative priority list. They are even more essential to the fight against crime, but their timelines have been pushed further and further back.

One of them is the Amendments to the Firearms Act. The Prime Minister has stated publicly that this piece of legislation is receiving his direct attention. 

There are actually two categories of illegal firearms. One consists of those that are technically illegal because their registration has expired or the circumstances of use have changed. This group is not of great concern. However, the second category consists of firearms which have entered the island illegally, have never been registered in Jamaica or have been stolen. Firearms in this group are the ones involved in most of the killings. We therefore expect the penalties for the acquisition, ownership, possession and trading of firearms in this second category to increase dramatically so that the penalties fully reflect the appalling harm that these illegal weapons do to Jamaica.

The second overdue item on the legislative priority of the Consensus is the new Enhanced Security Measures Act. The major political parties and the stakeholders to the Consensus agreed on certain conditions which should be met for the employment of the military in support of the police in the fight against crime.

There were however different views concerning the use of states of public emergency (SOE), as a strategy in the fight against crime.

In light of the failure of the Opposition and the Government to arrive at a consensus on the justification for the temporary abrogation of citizens’ rights, it was agreed to pursue the enactment of a new law that would enhance the powers of the State just enough to impose the measure of control required by the circumstances.

This new legislation would be the Enhanced Security Measures Act.  Were this legislation in place, we may have avoided the recent political furore about whether or not the continuation of the most recent SOE would be justified under the constitution.

The CMOC now urges the government to bring to Parliament a Bill to introduce this new law.  

This is another example why law reviews are so important and why the Consensus has given such a high priority to legislative reform.  Jamaica must have the modern laws that it needs to fight the crime and violence that is now ravaging the nation.