‘Change yuh ways’ - Holness issues warning to criminals

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has issued a chilling warning to criminals across Jamaica to walk away from a life of crime before it is too late.

"Change yuh ways. Find something else to do," Holness declared at a political meeting in St Catherine on Sunday. "If you were in it, figure out an exit plan. Transition out of it. Put down dem things deh, bury the gun, or better yet turn it in," Holness said.

The Prime Minister was addressing a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) conference in St Catherine South Central held at Old Harbour Road in Spanish Town. He laid bare the reality of Jamaica's enhanced national security efforts, pointing out that the government has poured significant investment into beefing up the capabilities of the security forces and customs to intercept the deadly flow of illegal guns entering the island.

"Some people tek it fi joke," Holness warned, "but the security apparatus of this country is far more sophisticated than it has ever been in the history of Jamaica."

Holness pointed to the dramatic drop in murders across the island and the increase in the recovery of illegal firearms as evidence of the government's investment in national security paying dividends. As of Sunday, murders were 41 per cent lower, year to date, when compared with the corresponding period last year. Similarly, 459 illegal guns have been recovered when compared to 377 last year.

Holness said the government's upgraded technology and intelligence operations are tightening the grip on those trafficking weapons and perpetuating violence. But even as the hammer of law enforcement comes down harder, the Prime Minister emphasised that now is the time for change.

"When crime go down, even the criminal win," he added. "His life is likely to be spared, and he has a chance to do something else with it," Holness said.