PRIME Minister Andrew Holness says more opportunities are needed for the nation’s unattached youth in order to prevent them from falling prey to criminal elements.

Speaking at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Burke Barracks in St James recently, Holness said it is against this background why the JDF, through the Jamaica National Service Corp (JNSC), has been mandated to provide a viable option for young people, through training and education.

“In 1998, one of my first resolutions in Parliament was for Jamaica to develop a system of compulsory military training for all Jamaican males. I continue to believe that should be the direction in which Jamaica goes,” the prime minister stated.

He noted that it was important to have the JDF play an integral role in “our social intervention, security and socialisation” adding that, the JNSC was established to undertake this.

“But it was also established for another purpose. If we are to integrate upfront the security element in social intervention you need personnel…otherwise you are going to rely (solely) on force…and you will not be able to have effective intervention if you are using force,” Holness argued.