Firearm News
Children in Jamaica Injured, Killed by Guns in Rising Numbers
2 June 2014
Trinidad and Tobago Express
KINGSTON - The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) says 60 children were murdered here during the period January 2013 to May this year.
The JCF said, in addition, 99 children were shot and injured by criminals during the same period.
According to the statistics released by the JCF, over the last two months, seven children between the ages seven and 17 years were murdered while one was shot and injured.
As a result, the police are calling on all citizens to redouble... (GunPolicy.org)
$30m of Firearms Seized, Over 450 Shootings in Jamaica in 2014
31 May 2014
Jamaica Gleaner
AN ESTIMATED $30 million worth of guns and ammunition have been taken off the streets of Jamaica since the start of the year.
Police data from January 1 to May 24, this year, has shown that 250 firearms and 3,417 rounds of ammunition have been recovered.
And on Thursday of this week, the cops confirmed that another nine guns and more than 1,000 rounds were seized in St Catherine.
A breakdown of the guns confiscated, as indicated by the police statistics, showed that... (GunPolicy.org)
Jamaican Police Seize 13 Firearms, Over 2000 Rounds in Two Days
29 May 2014
Jamaica Observer
ST CATHERINE, Jamaica - Police operating in Kingston West and St Catherine divisions say that in less than 24 hours, they removed 13 firearms and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition from the possession of criminals
The lawmen also apprehended a man they believe is the leader of Kingston's notorious Scare Dem Crew Gang.
The police said they were able to accomplish this in separate incidents between Wednesday, May 28 and Thursday, May 29.
Reports are that about 1:30... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearm Dealers' Fee Have Risen 100% in Jamaica
22 May 2014
Jamaica Gleaner
There is to be a 100 per cent increase in the cost for a firearm dealer's licence as Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips has signed a ministerial order approving greater charges for firearm licences, certificates and payments.
But retired assistant commissioner Errol Strong, who chaired the board of the Firearm Licensing Authority until 2010, said the increase "will not break the back of the dealers".
The ministerial order, dated May 2, which was laid in the House of... (GunPolicy.org)
Shootings Drop More than 30 Percent in Jamaica, Police Say
15 January 2014
DNAInfo (New York)
QUEENS — The number of shootings in Jamaica fell by nearly 32 percent last year, a decrease that police officials attributed to aggressive efforts to confiscate illegal firearms.
Last year, there were 30 shooting incidents in the 103rd Precinct, which covers Jamaica and Hollis. In 2012, there were 44 shooting incidents in the area, nearly 32 percent more.
"How do we keep people from getting shot? We confiscate illegal guns, whether it be through search warrants,... (GunPolicy.org)
Jamaica Police Upgrade Firearm Ballistic and Tracing Technology
3 December 2013
Jamaica Observer
Commissioner Owen Ellington appears pleased that the police force's forensic capabilities have been upgraded with new equipment and technology, as well as training for staff. Now, he is anxious to have the expertise gained by the constabulary tested in the courts.
"There are some very important cases to come to court soon, and I think there's one in court now which, if we get an opportunity, we can put on display some of the new investigative techniques that we've... (GunPolicy.org)
Jamaican Police Operation Nets Record Number of Illegal Guns
2 November 2013
Go Jamaica
The police are reporting that since the launch of Operation Resilience, a total of 295 operations have been carried out, resulting in a record seizure of 77 illegal firearms for the month of October and the arrest of 174 individuals.
This figure represents the highest number of recorded firearm seizures ever in any given month since June 2010 and has further increased illegal gun seizures to 601 for the period January to October 2013. This reflects a 20 per cent... (GunPolicy.org)
Cayman Islands Fighting Rise of Gangs and Guns
7 October 2013
CayCompass.com (Cayman Islands)
The Cayman Islands can fight a rising tide of violent crime with a combination of the "big stick and the olive branch," according to the man behind one of Jamaica's more successful crime-fighting schemes.
William Shagoury, the keynote speaker at a Crime Prevention Seminar in Grand Cayman last week, said the Cayman Islands needed to deal swiftly and strongly with its gang and gun problems before it escalated any further.
A coordinated community effort involving youth... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns Seized During Police Raid in Jamaica
7 October 2013
Jamaica Gleaner
Four illegal guns are off the streets of Montego Bay, St James, and two men are in custody, following a raid in the Green Pond district by the Mount Salem Police yesterday morning.
The raid, which was carried out in Burch Hill, Green Pond, resulted in a Glock 9mm pistol, a Beretta 9mm pistol, an Intra-Tek 9mm pistol and a Bushmaster 5.56mm rifle as well as approximately 84 assorted rounds of ammunition being seized from an occupied house in the area, and the subsequent... (GunPolicy.org)
Jamaica Govt Criticised as Homicide Rate Rises, Illegal Guns Blamed
2 October 2013
Caribbean 360
KINGSTON, Jamaica – The main opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has criticised the Portia Simpson Miller administration over its handling of the crime situation in Jamaica as the island recorded yet another increase in murders.
Opposition spokesman on National Security, Delroy Chuck, wants the government to take decisive action to deal with the situation.
"There's no doubt that the past three months have shown that we do not have crime and murders under control... (GunPolicy.org)
Push to Rid Jamaica Police Stations of Illegal Guns Stalls
18 August 2013
Gleaner (Jamaica)
The national security minister's push to eliminate the potentially dangerous practice of stockpiling seized guns at police stations has jammed.
The Sunday Gleaner has learnt that an islandwide audit, which is the first phase of moving the guns out of the stations, has stalled, leaving dozens of weapons close to the hands of cops, who have long been accused of planting illegal weapons to make cases against suspects.
In 2012, National Security Minister Peter Bunting... (GunPolicy.org)
Jamaica Police Hunt for Crime Guns Stolen from Licensed Owners
30 July 2013
Jamaica Gleaner
A military-police team was spurred into action in beleaguered communities in Annotto Bay, St Mary, after two licensed weapons reportedly owned by Robert Montague, who is chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party, were among four weapons being stored in a chest that fell into the wrong hands last week.
The four weapons - three shotguns and one revolver - were being stored in a chest that was stolen from a house that was burgled in the area, only days after Annotto Bay was... (GunPolicy.org)
Three Shot Dead in Jamaica Daylight Gunfight
25 June 2013
Stabroek News (Guyana) / Gleaner (Jamaica)
The sounds of violence pierced the morning sky in the volatile area around Pechon Street in the heart of the commercial district of downtown Kingston yesterday, leaving three dead, after five persons were shot.
Among the victims were two women and a policeman.
The two civilian men – Oshane Bentley, 23; and Jason Watt, 22; were fatally shot at the scene, while a woman identified as Sonya Daley died at hospital. The injured woman has been identified as Gwendolyn... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: Jamaica Police Commissioner Right to Target Guns, Gangs
9 June 2013
Gleaner (Jamaica), Opinion
"Security must be the first law of the [State]; otherwise, the other laws will not operate effectively." Though not original to him, these are wise words coming through Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington, MA.
Commissioner Ellington must be warmly commended for his contribution to the Sunday Observer last week, 'Dealing effectively with guns and drugs for improved public safety'. Public servants, cowering behind laws protecting state secrets and the tradition of... (GunPolicy.org)
Jamaica,Barbados,Caribbean,Trinidad & Tobago
Barbados Authorities Trace, Destroy Guns in Fight Against Crime
31 May 2013
Barbados Advocate
This island's top cop has revealed steps are being taken – not only on the local front, but regionally – to arrest the problem of gun crimes.
Speaking during the hand-over of a hydraulic shears at the Central Police Station from the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), Commissioner Darwin Dottin noted that there were countries in this region where more than 80 per cent of all homicides... (GunPolicy.org)
Caribbean,Barbados,Canada,Trinidad & Tobago,Jamaica
Barbados Authorities Tracing, Destroying Guns to Reduce Crime
31 May 2013
Barbados Advocate
This island's top cop has revealed steps are being taken – not only on the local front, but regionally – to arrest the problem of gun crimes.
Speaking during the hand-over of a hydraulic shears at the Central Police Station from the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), Commissioner Darwin Dottin noted that there were countries in this region where more than 80 per cent of all homicides... (GunPolicy.org)
Concerns Raised Over Licensing Rules After Jamaica Shooting Death
7 May 2013
Jamaica Observer
BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — The question continues to haunt loved ones, friends and others two weeks after Ann Marie Campbell's death.
Why was a well-liked 40 year-old businesswoman and mother of three shot by someone she knew well and with whom she had no quarrel?
The alleged shooter, Wayne Lewis, a licensed firearm holder, is in police custody and is scheduled to appear in the Black River Resident's Magistrates Court on May 8 on a charge of murder. The supposition... (GunPolicy.org)
Jamaica Police Propose Tough New Laws to Address Gun Homicide Rate
1 April 2013
Gleaner (Jamaica)
Seeking to take the monster of crime by the scruff, the Jamaican police have proposed radical legislative changes that would provide, among other things, lengthy prison sentences for gun-related crimes.
The recommendation forms the linchpin of the Jamaica Gun Project, an initiative conceptualised by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to stem the hundreds of gun-related crimes the island records each year.
"Gun offenders give us the equivalent in Jamaica of one 9/11... (GunPolicy.org)
Africa,Americas,Asia,Europe,Oceania,United States,Russia,Italy,Germany,Brazil,Switzerland,Israel,Austria,South Korea,Belgium,Spain,Turkey,Norway,Canada,United Kingdom,Australia,France,Pakistan,Yemen,Honduras,El Salvador,Jamaica
Fact and Figures: Global Trade in Small Arms
18 March 2013
al Jazeera
Diplomats from around the world have gathered at the UN for talks on an international arms trade treaty, in an effort to stop the sale of illegal conventional arms.
Similar talks held last July failed, mainly due to the objections of the US and Russia, the world's two largest arms exporters.
Al Jazeera has compiled a list of facts related to the global production and trading of small arms.
1. Authorised international transfers of small arms, light weapons, their... (GunPolicy.org)
Illegal Bullets Cost the Same as Bread in Jamaica
3 March 2013
Gleaner (Jamaica)
In Jamaica, a loaf of bread retails at a corner shop for about $235 while a single 9mm bullet can be bought for about $280 or less. The degree of difficulty in purchasing the bread or the bullet is relatively the same: zero.
A special Sunday Gleaner probe has confirmed that one does not have to work up a sweat to buy bullets on the streets of Jamaica. It is literally no problem, as we found out when we purchased 25 of these 9mm bullets last week.
Anyone interested in... (GunPolicy.org)