THE Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has proposed the application of the death penalty for convicted drug traffickers and terrorists as part of a plan to reduce the high level of violent crimes plaguing the country.

“The concept of capital murder as defined is too narrow to deal with the development that has taken place in recent times, mostly of an unusual nature, that is terrorism and narco (narcotics) trafficking,” the party’s leader, Edward Seaga, told reporters yesterday at a news conference at the party’s headquarters on Belmont Road in Kingston.

“The objective of increased penalty is to enforce existing laws quickly and do what is necessary to punish criminals that commit serious crimes,” said Seaga.

The ‘intensified penalties’, according to Seaga, is a part of the JLP’s four-pronged approach in its ‘crime reduction programme’.

Only capital murder charges attract the death penalty in Jamaica, but no hanging has been done locally in almost 20 years, as several death row cases have been held up by appeals to the United Kingdom-based Privy Council, the country’s final court of appeal, as well as other bodies to which murder convicts have a right to appeal.

The biggest blow came on November 2, 1993 after Earl Pratt and Ivan Morgan, who were on death row for more than five years, took their cases to the Privy Council, which ruled that inmates not hanged within five years should have their death sentences commuted. Several death row inmates subsequently had their death sentenced commuted to life imprisonment.

The Jamaican government is hoping that the proposed Caribbean Court of Justice, which when introduced will be the final court of appeal, will help to speed up the appeals of murder convicts and pave the way for the resumption of hanging.

The proposed court, though, does not have the blessing of Seaga’s JLP and it was not clear how the JLP intended to push cases through their various appeal processes so that hanging could resume.

There was a record 1,138 murders in Jamaica last year, many of which have been blamed on the growing drug trade. But the big traffickers are not usually caught.

The other aspects of the JLP’s crime plan will focus on providing proper infrastructure, transportation and equipment for members of the security forces.

The opposition leader said, too, that if elected to power in the next election, due by yearend, the JLP would rid the security forces of politics, which he believes is distorting their crime-fighting capabilities.

“Instead of looking into the right direction they often look away. Instead of looking for the known criminals they often ignore them for political reasons,” Seaga charged.

He also reiterated the JLP’s policy for the bipartisan appointment of members to the Police Services Commission, one way which he believes the police force would be rid of politics.

“By having a non-partisan commission in the police force, we will ensure non-partisan treatment of key functions such as appointments, promotions, transfers and discipline. And, police officers can be assured of treatment that is non-partisan, like getting a promotion by merit and not by political connection,” the opposition leader said.

In addition, Seaga said that the JLP would create a national intelligence agency which would see the merging of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Special Branch, the Military Intelligence Unit of the Jamaica Defence Force and the National Firearm and Drug Intelligence Centre.

“By merging these agencies we will have the best material to constitute a proper intelligence unit. The objective here is to improve the intelligence of the security forces to root out criminals by having informed positions to determine where crime(s) are being committed,” he said.

He said the crime reduction programme, which will be chaired by opposition spokesman on national security, Derrick Smith, calls for a series of meetings with various organisations and officials.

Other members of the team will include member of parliament for North East St Andrew and opposition spokesman on justice, Delroy Chuck; JLP deputy leader and MP for Central St Catherine, Olivia “Babsy” Grange; Mike Henry, MP for Central Clarendon; Senator Dorothy Lightbourne; and Andrew Holness MP for West Central St Andrew.

The team, Seaga said, intends to meet with various officials, beginning with the police commissioner, members of the Police Services Commission, the Police Federation, senior officers of the constabulary, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions and the umbrella groups of the churches.