Andrew Holness declares widespread state of emergency

• Jamaica’s prime minister issues nationwide state of emergency to combat violent crime.
• Authorities may make arrests and conduct warrantless searches of buildings.
• Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the Caribbean (per 100,000 people).

Andrew Holness, the prime minister of the island nation of Jamaica, announced in a public address on Wednesday that a nationwide state of emergency had been issued across the country to combat violent crime.

“All Jamaicans should be able to enjoy the Christmas season free from the threat of violence. We have some really serious criminal threats facing us and we have to use all the powers at our disposal,” Holness said.

Nine of Jamaica’s 14 parishes, including Clarendon, Saint Catherine, Westmoreland, Hanover, and portions of Kingston, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, and Saint James, which includes the well-known tourist attraction Montego Bay, would be under the State of Emergency (SOE).

Authorities may make arrests and conduct warrantless searches of buildings when a state of emergency is in effect.

“We have to ensure that our homicide rate and the level of violence that citizens experience on a daily basis does not get to the point where it threatens to collapse the state,” Holness added in his address.

On November 15, Jamaica, which has one of the highest murder rates in the Caribbean (per 100,000 people), imposed a State of Emergency (SOE) over several areas across the island.

However, the SOE was lifted on November 29 after it failed to pass a vote in the senate to have it extended. Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the Caribbean (per 100,000 people).

The recently announced SOE was received with hostility from both members of the general public and legislators from the opposing party.

A man was arbitrarily arrested and held for months without trial, and during the most recent Special Order of Events (SOE), the Supreme Court of Jamaica declared that island authorities had infringed the rights of the man.

Also Read

Cuba, Florida declares state of emergency after Hurricane Ian moves rapidly

US National Hurricane Center: Ian could hit western Cuba on Monday night...