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ENTITY · LAW / POLICY

Jamaica Noise Abatement Act (1997)

Well supported

Public record: the Noise Abatement Act, in force from 1997, empowers police to curtail amplified sound events in response to complaints and sets cut-off times for entertainment sessions, and its enforcement has been widely documented as affecting street dances and dancehall events (Laws of Jamaica; Jamaica Gleaner; Jamaica Observer).

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Society, politics & reception

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Articles & sources

Open source ↗

Sounding off on the Noise Abatement Act (Jamaica Gleaner)

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Jamaica Gleaner reference.

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In stories

Story · Well supportedRespectability and the dancehall space: bodies, fashion and the law

Fashion, dance, skin and noise turned the dancehall into a battleground over Jamaican respectability.

Debate & reception

What people argued about this record — two documented positions each time, kept apart from verified fact. Browse every argument in the archive →

Debate

Noise Abatement Act and street-dance lock-offs

One side

Residents' right to peace & lawful order

The other

Cultural space, livelihoods & the entertainment economy

A neutral account of the lock-off debate: enforcement of the Noise Abatement Act is defended as residents' right to peace and lawful order, and criticised as a threat to cultural space, livelihoods and the entertainment economy. No verdict.

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Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.

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