Media not reporting statistics on reduction in murders, says UWI professor

Monday, December 15, 2014 | 10:55 AM    

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Member of the National Partnership Council, Professor Alvin Wint, has expressed concern with the manner in which crime statistics are being reported by the media.

“There is very little recording in the media that there has been progress [reduction of murders],” the University of the West Indies (UWI) professor said.

Intentional homicide statistics presented by the group has shown a marked decline in murders since 2009, which had recorded the highest figure of 1,683 within the past 11 years.

To date, the year 2003 has recorded the lowest count of 975 murders.

The homicide statistics has also shown that up to Thursday, December 5, there was a total of 930 murders since the start of this year.

According to Professor Wint, the media has continually highlighted that the country may not meet its target of under 1000 murders for this year, while at the same time has not focused on the fact that there has been a marked reduction over the past few years.

“The media report that I hear is that we might not get to less than the fewer than 1,000 murders for this year, and that’s true. We might not, but I think that report should also be accompanied by the fact that we have seen a significant decline over the last years,” said Professor Wint.

He argued that a balanced perspective is needed in order not to frustrate those who are working on seeing some progress.

“We need to have a balance perspective on this, otherwise it is going to be very frustrating for those who are working very hard to see some progress in the country,” he stressed.

Professor Wint was addressing a parish consultation on the Partnership For Jamaica (PFJ) agreement which was held at the Sunset Beach Resort and Spa in Montego Bay St James on Thursday.

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Media not reporting statistics on reduction in murders, says UWI professor

BPO sector celebrates reduction in illegal activity

BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter

Thursday, October 16, 2014    

MONTEGO BAY, St James — A year ago, lotto scamming activities threatened to flat-line the business processing outsourcing (BPO) sector. Today, with a clampdown on the illegal activity, bolstered by the relevant legislation, there is now next to no reports of the illegal activities and the industry is thriving.

“I would say a year or so ago that was the number one issue affecting not only the sector but more broadly and certainly in the last couple of months I have not heard that as a major issue anymore,” Julian Robinson, the state minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Mining and Energy, told the Jamaica Observer West.

Robinson attributed the reduction of complaints to Government’s introduction of legislation to battle the illegal sweepstakes, which not only posed a threat to the existence of BPO industry but has resulted in a spate of killings across western Jamaica.

In the past, scammers would get data from within some of the BPO companies. They then used that data to target their victims, mostly elderly United States residents. As the activity flourished local companies were at risk of losing their contracts from overseas entities.

BPO services target offshore or near-shore back-office operations such as accounting, human resource management and customer service (call-centre facilities).

Meanwhile, President of the Business Processing Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), Yoni Epstein confirmed that reports of scamming activities within the sector has fallen.

“The reality of it is it is on the decline. We have not heard of any instances, and to me more importantly, I haven’t heard any instances locally as the clients and prospective clients are asking about it less and less,” Epstein told the Observer West.

Both Epstein and Robinson were speaking to the Observer West following the historical signing of a deal between Columbus Communications and the BPIAJ to establish an incubator within the Montego Bay Freezone, which is expected to trigger growth, enhance market access and create new jobs.

The incubator, which is slated to be fully operational by December, will fast-track entry of new players into the business process outsourcing sector as well as facilitate short-term expansion for current investors.

The telecommunications firm — which trades as Flow and has been vigourously marketing its business brand Columbus Business Solutions (CBS) — will install, as part of its workstation solutions, screens and a combination of physical and so-called soft phones.

Columbus, which offers telephony, Internet and cable services, has ramped up its infrastructure to capitalise on businesses’ appetite for one-stop-shop, holistic technology solutions. “The partnership recognises the importance of the Business Process Industry to Jamaica‘s national development and is intended to provide a solution that fast tracks new entrants to the local market, a problem that has often been cited by the Government and Industry players alike” said Sean Latty, head of the communications giant.

The BPO sector is a fast-growing industry which local economists and Government officials see as having great potential for growth, as business confidence rises and investment opportunities emerge.

Currently, there are approximately 40 BPO companies in operations, accounting for approximately 14,000 jobs in Jamaica, according to Epstein.

“We believe that this is a small portion of what the industry is capable of and the partnership with CBS will ease one of the challenges that has stifled the sector’s growth,” Epstein said. Epstein’s point is supported by JAMPRO, the government’s trade and investment promotion agency, that has indicated the sector could create 15,000 new jobs over the next five years.

“The BPO sector represents the fastest growing growth sector in the economy right now and we commend Flow as a private sector partner for coming on board and supporting this initiative,” he added.

As Jamaica seeks to improve its rankings in global competitiveness and the ease-of-doing-business indices, CBS’s initiative will help to expedite the entry of new BPO entrepreneurs, making the industry more dynamic and innovative.

Epstein was upbeat over the soon-to-be established incubator.

“The incubator is a 200 seat call centre that will be developed in the Montego Bay Freezone. The goal of the incubator is to attract foreign investors as well as local investors to start up businesses. Its cheaper access to entry, lower barriers to entry and faster uptime to get started into business. We want to make it as easy as possible for investors to want to come to Jamaica as well as for local investors and entrepreneurs to start businesses,” Epstein told the Observer West.

Epstein added: “It is also going to foster growth in existing businesses because if we have the space and someone can’t build out fast. Enough they will have access to the incubator to start-up grow their business while they develop their existing spaces.”

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BPO sector celebrates reduction in illegal activity

Double-digit reduction in major crimes

Peter Bunting – Ricardo Makyn photo

Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, is reporting a significant drop in serious and violent crimes, with double-digit reductions in most categories.

“Serious and violent crimes (are) down year-to-date on average by double-digit percentages (with) murder by 11 per cent, shooting by six per cent, rape by 17 per cent, and aggravated assault down 26 per cent,” he said.

Mr Bunting presented the crime figures during Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives.

He also pointed to a major reduction in fatal police shootings, which is down by 46 per cent year-to-date. Acquisitory crimes such as robberies have declined by 11 per cent.

The security minister also told the House that the new laws which have been passed to deal with organised crime are having an impact.

“Already, the police have arrested and charged 600 persons in just 15 months that the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions) (Special Provisions) Act has been in effect. All 20 cases that have already been disposed of in the courts have resulted in convictions. We anticipate similar success with the recently passed anti-gang legislation,” he stated.

Minister Bunting said he remains fully focused on the task of making the country safe and peaceful.

“We have a committed and professional police force that has made the gains I outlined, despite an environment of scarce resources, through determination, ingenuity, and personal sacrifice,” he stated.

He further urged members of the police force to stay focused and professional, and called on all citizens to give support to the crime-fighting efforts.

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Double-digit reduction in major crimes

Cooperative agreement for regional risk reduction signed

The first international seminar for the Greater Caribbean’s “CARIB RISK CLUSTER” recently ended in Martinique with the signing of a cooperative agreement to address risk reduction across the region.

The meeting addressed the many aspects of risk reduction, including the prevention and management of disaster risks facing the Caribbean Basin and how to protect human lives and safeguard socio-economic development.

About 150 delegates and officials from seven Caribbean countries and territories: Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Martin and Trinidad and Tobago, focused on thematic areas during the three-day meeting, addressing meteorological risks, town and country planning, health and epidemic risks, and public information services.

The final declaration reiterated a commitment to regional cooperation through the “CARIB RISK CLUSTER”, which was established in 2011 by the General Council of Martinique.

Co-financed by the European Union through the INTERREG CARAIBES IV Programme, the project, originally entitled “Caribbean Cluster on natural risks and risks from the sea,” seeks to coordinate and strengthen risk management policies in the region.

Delegates agreed to leverage the combined efforts of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPDEM), and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

This resulted in the signing of an agreement between the General Council of Martinique, represented by its President Mrs. Josette Martin, and Ronald Jackson, CDEMA’s Executive Director.

Mrs. Manin, in her capacity as the head of “CARIB RISK CLUSTER”, thanked the participants of the seminar and confirmed her personal and team’s support to pursue a successful completion of this ambitious and important regional project.

Source: General Council of Martinique

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Cooperative agreement for regional risk reduction signed

Pick -9 set for possible reduction

Sport

BY OBSERVER RACING WRITER Friday, January 03, 2014

The news around the racetrack is that there is a possibility the Pick-9 exotic wager at its present amount of $10 per line is under review, and that attempts will be made by the promoting company Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) to reduce the base wager to its original amount of $5.Confirmation of this possible move by CTL follows the decision by the company last year to increase the unit cost for win, place, exacta, quinella and some other bets to $50, from the then amount of $40. The decision was also taken at the time to increase the Pick -9 from $5 to $10.The only comment coming from an official of CTL regarding the possibility of a reduction in the cost of the Pick-9 was: “At this time the matter is under consideration.” For a change to take place, CTL would have to make a formal request in writing to the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), after which the BGLC would consider the request and take a decision.There has been a noticeable decline in the amount of betting dollars spent on the Pick-9 since it was increased in the middle of last year. Sales have been struggling to reach the $1 million mark on most race days, with the exotic wager having a minimum guarantee payout of $1 million.Members of the public at the races.

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Pick -9 set for possible reduction