The Jamaican Government has secured an agreement with the British Government to freeze the deportation of Jamaicans serving time for violent offences in United Kingdom prisons.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding revealed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Kampala, Uganda, that the agree-ment was concluded during talks with British leader Gordon Brown.

"We got a commitment from him that those who are going to be coming down in the immediate future are persons that do not include those who have been convicted of violent offences," Mr. Golding said.

Golding, whose administration is facing a rise in violent crime since it took office in September, said he wanted a managed programme for the return of deportees to Jamaica, so that they can be reunited with their families and are absorbed into the society without any trauma.

No timeline

The Prime Minister did not give a timeline for when Jamaicans convicted of violent offences will eventually be deported, but expressed concern that the nation's capacity to accept, process and monitor them is limited.

He said the British Government has offered to construct a facility that would be used to help in the reintegration of Jamaicans who were deported, into the society.