Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday renewed a state of emergency in several regions of the country due to gang violence.
«We will use the State of Public Emergency tool whenever there is a threat to life and property, as well as to communities deprived of the rights and freedoms of citizens, and the situation exceeds the capabilities of our regular law enforcement agents,» Holness explained at a press conference.
The Jamaican head of government asserted that «the duty of any government is to save lives». «I am confident that our measures this season have resulted in many Jamaicans being safer and many more lives have been saved,» he added.
In addition, Holness said that his administration continues to work on a legislative agenda that shows «seriousness as a society in the fight against crime».
In this sense, he indicated that his Executive will renew the Enhanced Security Measures Bill: «We have already declared our intention to increase the penalty for homicide».
The ‘premier’ had announced in mid-November the state of emergency in several regions, a measure that has allowed authorities to search buildings and arrest citizens without a warrant.
«The government, after careful consideration of the advice of the security chiefs, has decided to inform the Governor General that it was necessary and indeed appropriate to declare States of Public Emergency in these areas. We have seen an increase in criminal activity in these areas and indeed a threat to property and in some cases public disorder,» he said at the time, as picked up by the ‘Jamaica Observer’ media.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
