Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer

Police Commissioner Hardley Lewin says he is going all out to improve Jamaica's collaboration with Haiti in an effort to substantially stem the flow of illegal guns from that country into Jamaica.

To that effect, he says, "the relevant section" of the Jamaica Constabulary Force has been given two weeks to initiate a higher level of dialogue with its counterparts in Port-au-Prince.

"We have to get a much better handle on what is happening on the ground in Haiti and get some authority in Haiti much more closely involved," the commissioner concedes.

He says sporadic efforts have been made in the past "with a few visits to Haiti", but according to the commissioner, the search for a solution to the gun-smuggling problem "will have to go well beyond that, and very quickly".

Major market

Lewin, who previously headed the Jamaica Defence Force, says Haiti and the United States are the two main sources of illegal firearms entering Jamaica - the United States supplying most of the new weapons, with Haiti a major market for second-hand guns.

Intercepting the guns being smuggled from Haiti into Jamaica by men in canoes is very difficult, he says, because of the vastness of the sea and the ease with which the smugglers are able to detect the approach of the coastguard or marine police vessels and either take evasive action or dump the illegal cargo.

Therefore, according to Lewin, it is very important for law-abiding citizens living in coastal communities to discretely pass on information to the authorities about the movement of guns through these fishing villages.

Cooperation

The police have been relatively successful in retrieving illegal guns from criminals over the past few years. They have apparently been less successful, however, in stemming the flow of replacement guns coming into the country.

It is for that reason, according to the police commissioner, that the level of cooperation with source countries must improve.

Commissioner Lewin, in a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Gleaner, also promised to go after extortionists who have been targeting the business community for "protection money".

"There are specific operational initiatives that we can put in place to deal with that problem. I think we can be a little bit more proactive in that area, and I will do that. And then I hope the response from them will be encouraging," says Lewin.

At the start of this year, the police expressed concern that the growing guns-for-drugs trade between the two countries was contributing to the extensive circulation of illegal guns hin the island. In February, the police recovered a gun which was identified to be the type carried by the Haitian police. Four persons - including two Haitian nationals - suspected to be a part of the illicit trade, were arrested.