THE Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is widening its tint-removal exercise to include private vehicles.

“This is not limited to public passenger vehicles (PPV),” head of the Police Traffic Division, Senior Superintendent (SSP) Calvin Allen, told Jamaica Observer’s Auto magazine. “The focus has been on the public passenger vehicles, but it is not limited to these vehicles.”

Recently, recording artiste and producer Wayne “Lonesome” Brown Snr learnt about the programme’s expansion the hard way.

His son, Wayne Brown Jnr, was driving his father’s 2006 Suzuki Vitara when he was stopped in Half-Way-Tree, ticketed by the police, and his licence plates were removed by the cops in conjunction with Island Traffic Authority/Transport Authority representative. He was given a document to allow him to drive the vehicle to his St Andrew residence.

“Di ticket is $7,000 plus an additional $5,500 a certificate to remedy a defect … We had to get a wrecker to then take the vehicle to the Spanish Town examination depot to be passed, plus taxi fare fi move up and down,” said Brown Snr.

Brown insisted that his information was that the operation was aimed at PPV drivers, some of whom are not only operating illegally and suspected of committing crimes such as abduction, rape, robbery and murder.

“I don’t mind you taking tint off PPV, but private vehicle, no. It is for my security… suppose me go bank and man can easily see me in my vehicle and plan fi rob me. If him cyaan see mi, him wi think twice,” said Brown Snr. “Fighting crime is supposed to be intelligence-driven. This is foolishness. If they want to be able to identify or track PPV vehicles involved with crimes, what they need to do is to start issuing licence plates which identify the vehicles with the parish they are from.”

SSP Allen quickly pointed to 15B of the Traffic Act which states: “The owner, driver or operator of a vehicle shall not install or cause to be installed in that vehicle curtains, screens or other similar device which will prevent an inward view of the vehicle.”

The top cop said the requirements for the coaster and minibuses are similar, pointing out that the only difference will be the tinting allowed for the windscreen.

“For the coaster bus, no tint will be allowed on the back glass, nor the two immediate glasses at the side of the vehicle; therefore, there ought to be a clear view on the back seat of those public passenger vehicles,” he said.

SSP Allen said fines are expected to increase once the new Road Traffic Act is passed in Parliament. He also stated that the regulations will be extended to the State-owned bus entity, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company.

The JCF, in tandem with Island Traffic Authority/Transport Authority, recently began removing tints from vehicles as part of a crime-fighting initiative.