(Jamaica Gleaner) Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness yesterday morning directed Jamaica Customs to ensure the full rollout of scanners at the island’s ports to detect contraband, primarily illegal weapons, entering the country.
Holness gave the directive during his keynote address at this year’s National Security Council Seminar.
He gave updates on the government’s security investments and called for a global fight against gangs, which are at the helm of Jamaica’s crime problem, among other things.
“For too long we have been ineffective in putting in place the measures at our airports and our seaports to properly scan our containers, to put in place a well-developed and robust integrity mechanism for those persons who operate security at our ports,” said Holness, explaining that while illegal guns stream in from the United States and Haiti, Jamaicans need to take responsibility for their own security, particularly to detect and seize guns when they arrive at the ports.
Already, he said, the government has invested in a marine patrol aircraft and will be investing in another in short order to further the security objectives.
There have also been heavy investments in radars.
“Now, we are going to make a significant investment to ensure we have all the scanners in our ports so that a higher percentage of containers and goods coming into Jamaica can be appropriately scanned,” he said, noting his directive to customs to ensure all the scanners are operational at the main ports of entry.
“We will take responsibility for stopping the illegal guns coming into Jamaica,” he pressed, noting that tackling ‘Jamaica’s crime problem will nonetheless be an effort of regional and international partnership.
This was the third staging of the seminar under the theme: “Security without borders, aligning, local, regional, and international efforts to build a resilient future.”
It was aimed at exploring how unified strategies and cross-border collaboration can strengthen a collective security landscape.
