Human Traffickers to Face Tougher Penalties

Human Traffickers are set to face tougher penalties as the Members of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, November 3, passed the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression, and Punishment) (Amendment) Act 2021, creating tougher penalties for offenders.

The decision was made to amend the monetary penalties under Section 15 of the Act to remove the option of fines in place of jail sentences as a penalty for certain extreme offenses and to increase the monetary penalties.

In addition, the amendment makes a consequential amendment to Section 10 of the Child Care and Protection Act, removing the possibility of a fine instead of a jail sentence for Human Traffickers.

Closing the debate on the bill, Minister of National Security, Dr. Horace Chang, stated that the government is developing a legislative framework that punishes human trafficking while discouraging persons from becoming part of the criminal activity.

Minister Chang described human trafficking as a brutal enterprise that offers substantial cash to the criminal underworld.

“While it is not yet a major activity in Jamaica, we are in a position where it could become another major risk to the State, in providing the kind of funding to the criminal underworld, which we don’t wish to have,” he pointed out.

The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression, and Punishment) Act was passed in 2007 and amended in 2013 to increase the penalties. It was again amended in 2018 to enable a judge to try trafficking offences without a jury. The legislation is to be sent to the Senate for its approval.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that, globally, trafficking in persons generates approximately US$150 billion in profits each year.