Headlines:
| PSOJ donates $20m to crime fight |
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| Thursday, 03 July 2008 | |
Scared that rising levels of crime will cripple
businesses, the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) is putting its
money where its mouth is. The PSOJ is making a fresh commitment to pump an additional $20 million to bolster the Crime Stop Reward programme. And, while making its own efforts to tackle the country's crime problems the organization is pressing for the government to make several changes it feels will put a dent in crime. PSOJ President Christopher Zacca says these measures include the implementation of the three strikes law for all repeat offenders who have committed dangerous crimes. "We feel that people should be locked up for a very long time if they have illegal guns and they should be denied bail and the cases should be fast tracked through the court system," "We are suggesting that anybody who gets convicted three times in their life for serious crimes such as robbery, wounding and illegal possession of firearm should be jailed for a minimum for 25 years without the possibility of parole. We want to see what the government's long and medium term road map is to fight crime," said Mr. Zacca. The PSOJ is also asking the government to implement the use of video evidence to record witness testimonies and mandatory imprisonment on convictions for any gun related crime. Mr. Zacca said a request has been made Thursday for a meeting to be held with both Prime Minister Bruce Golding and opposition leader Portia Simpson-Miller to discuss crime reduction. Over the weekend the PSOJ committed to providing a reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the killing of former JUTC chairman, Douglas Chambers. |