KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is reminding the public that fireworks (pyrotechnics) and firecrackers remain illegal in Jamaica.

Firecrackers, more commonly called ‘clappers’, are still sold during the Christmas period despite being illegal.

Head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gary McKenzie, said people should desist from using them.

“All of those things are illegal, and they should not be done. There are no permits that are being given for these kinds of activities. We expect that persons will abide by the rules [as] we are not going to be lenient,” ACP McKenzie said.

“If persons are caught doing this, there is no discretion that will prevent us or that we will use not to arrest and charge people, because we have to ensure the message is clear. If we do not take steps to be safe and abide by the rules, we are going to destroy ourselves, and we will not allow that,” he added.

McKenzie further stated that both the sale and possession of any type of fireworks or firecrackers is illegal.

“The possession is illegal, the sale of it is illegal and the use of it is illegal. So no one is to be in possession of clappers or any other device that will cause fireworks or will cause explosions. What we don’t realise is that, especially with communities, we have babies, elderly persons, hospitals and infirmaries and sometimes these things go off and it can be quite frightening,” ACP McKenzie stated.

He informed that people have lost their homes due to individuals who display fireworks.

“Persons might say it’s so fun, and it’s so pretty, so they want to do it. But persons have lost their entire home because of these things. Remember, it’s fire and it’s not controlled. You can burn down somebody’s house, so we’re just asking persons to really be responsible,” ACP McKenzie said.