Non Lethal Weapons and Jamaica
A female source who asked not to be identified says her husband purchased a taser disguised as a flashlight from eBay for himself and his wife to use for protection. The increasing criminal activity in the country is his reason for purchasing the non-lethal weapon and to ensure his wife is able to defend herself in his absence. The disguised taser was shipped to Jamaica and to his surprise the disguise had worked and the item was cleared by Customs. This encouraged him to make a second attempt to purchase the non-lethal weapon but this time to provide him and his wife’s children with a weapon of security. However, the item was seized by the agency and the family made no further attempts at importing non-lethal weapons to the country.
Importers are often unaware of the regulations and try to ship in non-lethal weapons without following the given protocol. This source, like others, need a permit to import non-lethal weapons to Jamaica as there are rules regarding the importation of such weapons. While regulations are in place Customs frequently discovers non-lethal weapons in packages imported.
A representative from the Jamaica Customs Agency who rather not be identified, says “there is a minimum of 4–8 findings of non-lethal weapons at each warehouse each month”. Non-lethal weapons are those which are less likely to kill a target and instead cause injury, but the Deputy Director of the Legal Reform Department at the Ministry of Justice Nadine Wilkins, says “in order to import non-lethal weapons, a permit must be obtained”.
The customs representative says “tasers, pepper sprays, batons, monkey fists, among others,” are usually found in packages but “importers are unaware of the various permit requirements for the importation of certain goods. As a result they are found to be in contravention of the Customs Act.” The Offensive Weapons (Prohibition) Act of Jamaica provides details on what weapons are are legal for personal protection and which are illegal to carry in public. It lists weapons such as daggers, butterfly knife, flick knife, knuckle knife or any knife which is commonly known as a switchblade, ratchet knife or Rambo as an offensive weapon not to be armed with. Also, the law permits the use of mace and pepper spray for self- defence while tasers fall within the category of an offensive weapon-based on intent when the item is used. A 21 year old, Racheal White said she went to the barber to do her eyebrows when she was assaulted by the barber who she then tased in the neck. The taser was given to her by her sister who was concerned about the criminal activity in their community and White says she does not understand the ban on the importation of the non-lethal weapon given the increasing criminal activity. Wilkins says “the support of the police would be required to convince the government to allow suppliers to import those items.”
Regardless, the Jamaica Customs representative says “most of these civilians sometimes do not understand the difference between restricted and prohibited goods, the requirement for importing these items, how to obtain a permit for clearance and sometimes they just didn’t know it’s in the shipment.” He notes that family members sometimes place non-lethal weapons in packages to be sent to the country and they would be discovered hidden between various items. This is a breach of the regulations of the company whose laws were set out by the Jamaican Government. The victim of a 2018 bus robbery, Nadine Bryan says “ I think if I had a weapon to defend myself and my daughter the situation would have been handled differently and I plan on asking my brother overseas to send a taser for me because the crime getting from bad to worse out here in Jamaica.”
In 2017, Forbes magazine listed Jamaica as the third (3rd) most dangerous place for travelling females and The Business Insider in 2018 names Jamaica the tenth (10th) most dangerous place in the world. The Jamaica Constabulary Force reported in 2018, 1287 murders with the crime rate being 47 per 100,000. The government has since initiated the states of emergency to protect the population from the growing criminal activities resulting from robbery, rape, murders and other crimes.
While the government has implemented numerous states of emergency, civilians are purchasing non-lethal weapons to protect themselves and their families. The Jamaica Customs representative says “Any restricted goods arriving without a valid permit is a breach of the Customs Act and as a result, these items are usually documented and detained in a secured holding area until the relevant permit is obtained.” He explains that Jamaica customs expect the permit to be presented on the day of clearance for the item but not having the permit is considered a breach to which a fee is imposed.
An examination is done on all containers arriving at the Jamaica Customs Agency and in some cases a partial examination depending on the content of the shipment. It is scanned, examined manually by an officer and a risk management unit conducts secondary examinations. If individuals are caught violating the law the Jamaican Customs Agency prefers to inform customers of the rules relating to the importation of non-lethal weapons rather than penalizing. Wilkins says “having acquired a legal permit the weapon can be purchased from a licensed supplier and a person who is licensed to supply can sell it locally.”
