Police report 6,000 illegal guns in Jamaica

The police high command is reporting that there are at least 6,000 illegal firearms in Jamaica.



According to the assistant commissioner of police in charge of crime Les Green, the police need the support of every sector to recover these weapons.



It’s one of the reasons ACP says the police would like the Parliament to extend the state of public emergency when the matter is raised this afternoon.



ACP Green was addressing members of the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) this morning.



According to ACP Green, in the past four years the police have recovered bullets and fragments from crime scenes which indicate that they were fired from 6,300 different firearms.



However, he says the police have only been able to link these weapons to 355 crime scenes.



This means that roughly 6,000 illegal firearms are on the streets, which have been used only once.



Under the state of public emergency limited to Kingston and St Andrew the police have so far seized at least 83 illegal guns in the just over three weeks.



ACP Green says this is one of the reasons the Parliament should consider extending the measure when it comes to the House later today.



ACP Green also says of the 1,300 illegal firearms the police have forensically examined only 33 have been linked to a crime scene.



However with laws like the Suppression of Crimes Act and many other anti crime initiatives, why has the problem murder and other serious offences continued?



ACP Green says there is not enough political will to deal with the problem as demonstrated by the failure to address the over-burdened court system.



ACP Green says in the past five years there have been an average 1,593 murders a year.



Of this number he says the perpetrator is identified in 665 of the cases.



However, ACP Green says on average for each year for the past five years only 74 murderers have been convicted.



Meanwhile, ACP Green is bemoaning a serious problem of leadership across the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).



ACP Green says business operators must also play their part by helping to stamp out corruption and by not facilitating the trafficking of firearms through the ports.