JLP To Pursue Mandatory Sentences For Certain Violent Crimes

By: Admin

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The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is promising to implement mandatory prison sentences for violent criminals and certain dangerous categories of crime. 

The promise is among what the JLP calls its '10 Steps to Safety and Security' revealed in the party's manifesto. 

The Opposition party argues that Jamaica's current approach to treating offenders is in need of urgent reform because it is ineffective. 

The JLP says it will begin this process in its first 100 days in office if it is elected to form the next government come next week Thursday. 

The party says it will either enact new laws or amend current ones.

The JLP plans to increase the use of non-custodial sentences with strict supervision conditions. 

Those measures would include electronic monitoring for non-violent offenders. 

SEE: JLP Manifesto

Last year, Jamaica recorded a 20 per cent increase in murders, when compared with the similar period in 2014.

And there have been increasing calls for policy-makers to come up with new strategies to respond. 

The JLP says it will commit a minimum percentage of the national budget as an investment for security improvement and crime reduction.

It says this investment will be done over the next five years.

The party is pledging that in its first year in office, it will construct or deploy 30 small police posts in areas identified as crime hotspots.