NCJ Number
160203
Date Published
1992
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Jamaica's principal gun-control legislation, the Gun Court Act, mandated harsh sentences for criminals who used guns during a crime and denied some Jamaicans their legal rights; these harsh measures proved to be ineffective in controlling crime.
Abstract
The Gun Court Act was passed in 1974 and survived in its most repressive forms through 1982. This act established a special court to deal with the offense of the illegal possession of firearms and other offenses that involved firearms where the offender's possession was illegal and provided for a mandatory and indeterminate sentence for illegal possession and use of firearms. Despite the limitations of the data and analysis, a general empirical assessment of the Gun Court Act can be made. The data show that following an initial decline, there were overall increases for all categories of firearm-related crimes throughout most of the study period. Those interviewed about the causes of the firearm crime who were not directly affiliated with either political party attributed it to the use of strong-arm men, gunmen, and gangsters in the political arena; widespread victimization in the allocation of jobs and contracts by successive governments and by local authorities; and interference by politicians with the police in the execution of their duties. Statistics suggest that illegal firearms were still in the hands of many criminals during the years the Gun Court Act was implemented. The attempt to control firearm criminals through passage of mandatory firearm legislation failed, and political motivations seem to have been important reasons for this failure. Following the election of the JLP in 1980, the Gun Court Act remained in effect with its most oppressive features for 2 years. By early 1982 many individuals interviewed stated the failure of either government to remove, or at least substantially amend, the act was a challenge to all class interests.