Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced on Sunday, September 3 two major rewards program for the arrest of wanted criminals and the recovery of illegal guns and ammunition. The prime minister’s announcement followed a tour of Mount Salem, St. James, the crime infested community that was first declared a zone of special operations (ZOSO) by law enforcement authorities.
Speaking at a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister West in Montego Bay, Holness said the Government will be providing a J$100 million fund to provide rewards for information leading to recovery of guns and ammunition.
“The rewards will be administered by Crime Stop, but not limited to information about firearms in a ZOSO,” Holness stressed.
He said people who call Crime Stop on 311 and give credible information about the location of guns and ammunition can benefit from the reward program.
“We are encouraging the people of Jamaica to fight against crime by giving information,” he said.
“The amount of the rewards paid will vary, depending on the types of guns and amount of ammunition recovered from the information provided,” he explained.
According to Holness, information leading to the recovery of rifles/submachine will be $150,000; semi-automatic pistols and shot guns $100,000; revolvers $75,000, while explosives and ammunition are negotiable.
“The Crime Stop system will be responsible for the payment of the rewards,” he said.
The other crime-fighting initiative announced by Holness is the Fugitive Apprehension Fund.
Under that fund, the Government will be providing $1.5 million for information leading to the arrest of the country’s 20 most wanted criminals.
The list of wanted criminals, he said, will be published by the security forces in “short order”, adding that Crime Stop will manage the fund and pay out the rewards in accordance with their standard protocols.
Holness, who along with National Security Minister Robert Montague, Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte and senior officials of the security forces visited several areas in Mount Salem. He also announced a five-day moratorium on establishing possession where an illegal firearm is discovered on a premises in a ZOSO.
“The moratorium will not give immunity to the documented owner/occupier of a premises if the illegal gun yields evidence that connects the owner/occupier of the premises to other crime,” the PM warned.
