PM renews vow to disrupt criminals and dismantle gangs

 

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has reaffirmed his administration's resolve to dismantle gangs and break the stranglehold of crime and violence on society. 

 

Speaking Friday at a New Social Housing Programme (NSHP) groundbreaking ceremony in Tower Hill, in his West Central St. Andrew constituency, Dr. Holness argued that the 44 per cent reduction in murders is an encouraging step in the fight against crime. 

 

He warned those involved in crime that the authorities have taken a zero-tolerance approach to their illegal activities. 

 

"I don't want you to be killed, so I have to appeal to you. Those young men who feel that they can take up a gun and go and commit a crime and we don't know, we will find you and you will either meet a judge or your maker. Put down the gun. Put it down. Let me be clear. The government will eliminate and eradicate every single gang in Jamaica. Let me be clear. Every contract killer, we will find you. Everyone who is importing guns into Jamaica, we will find you," he warned. 

 

Dr. Holness also had a caution for so-called "area leaders" involved in transnational crime.

 

"So you think you commit a crime and you gone. We now have the technology to find you and identify you. Let me say it again, for all the dons who believe they are above the law, find something else to do. Transition out of crime. Put down the gun. Find something else to do. Now is the time when you must go turn legitimate; go into some business and come out of crime now, because the people are not seeing you as protecting the community anymore. They're not seeing you as providing anything anymore. You're no longer a hero, you're a criminal," he declared, noting that he was giving "fair warning". 

 

The Prime Minister said the government has invested $90 billion over the last three years in fighting crime.