The Jamaican Senate’s push to stiffen penalties for murder devolved into a political slug-fest on Friday, as Government and Opposition senators jostled for bragging rights over the island’s dramatic 44 per cent drop in homicides this year.
What should have been a straightforward debate on three companion Bills — the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Act 2025, the Child Care and Protection (Amendment) Act 2025, and the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act 2025 — quickly morphed into a proxy fight for the looming general election.
Whose scoreboard?
Government Senator Charles Sinclair framed the crime statistics as proof that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) deserves a third term. He credited an $80-billion security upgrade, new investigative tech, and “unapologetically firm leadership” for the steep decline in murders. “Why swap a winning formula?” he asked, hinting that replacing Prime Minister Andrew Holness or National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang would be “poor judgement.” jamaicaobserver.com
Opposition point-man Peter Bunting responded with a counter-ledger: more than 12,000 murders recorded since the JLP returned to power in 2016. One semester of good numbers, he argued, cannot erase eight years of carnage. He maintained that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) — not the Cabinet — earned the credit after Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake recalibrated field tactics. jamaicaobserver.com
A war of receipts
First-term Government Senator Abka Fitz-Henley blasted Bunting’s “selective arithmetic,” pointing to over 13,000 murders tallied during four successive People’s National Party (PNP) administrations between 1989 and 2005. He also waved the Government’s spending ledger: $80 billion ploughed into the security forces versus $28 billion under the last PNP term. facebook.com
Opposition Senator Lambert Brown fired back, skipping the bean-counting to taunt the Holness administration for not yet naming an election date: “The longer you wait, the harder the beating.”
The legislation itself
Away from the theatrics, the chamber approved tougher sentencing bands:
- Capital murder – parole eligibility pushed from 20 years to 50 years.
- Non-capital murder – minimum time served doubled to 30 years.
- Child victims – extra years tacked on for anyone convicted of killing a minor.
- Child offenders – even if the defendant turns 18 before trial, juvenile sentencing rules will still apply. radiojamaicanewsonline.com
Leader of Government Business Kamina Johnson Smith said the tweaks “give statutory voice to the nation’s outrage when a child is slain,” while ensuring that juvenile perpetrators are not slammed with adult penalties.
What’s next?
With the Bills cleared, the political trench warfare now moves outside Gordon House. The JLP will trumpet its falling crime curve; the PNP will remind voters of the cumulative death toll. The only certainty: murder statistics are no longer mere data points — they’re campaign ammunition.
