Crime down to a trickle

Western Bureau:

With 55 fewer murders than the corresponding period last year, Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels, the police commander for St James, drew appreciative laughter at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation when he jokingly declared that water is now a bigger issue than crime in the parish.

Samuels, who was delivering his monthly report, stated that he was happy to report that St James, which was the nation’s crime capital for the greater part of the last two decades, was doing extremely well in turning the crime situation around.

“I am happy to report that the St James division is still doing fairly as it relates to crime. We have a 57.5 per cent reduction in murders, which is seeing us at 41 murders compared to 96 this time last year, which is 55 less murders in the division,” said Samuels.

Once the current trend holds, as it relates to murders, St James is, seemingly, on course to register fewer than 100 in a year for the first time in more than two decades. It should be noted that the gangs that used to wreak havoc in former times have been significantly diminished, with their leaders either dead or in police custody.

While the murder situation has toned down, Samuels said the police are concerned about the uptick in robberies, which is, seemingly, a bothersome scourge across western Jamaica.

“We are seeing an uptick in robberies not just in St James but across several parishes. We have done some work, and we have caught some of the members of that gang, but there are still some persons outstanding who continue to give us one or two issues,” said Samuels. “But all in all, we’ve been doing some work, and I’m happy that water seems to be the bigger issue in St James than crime. I’m happy that crime is not at the forefront.”

In commending the general citizenry for their role in crime reduction, Samuels urged resident to continue to play their part, noting that a peaceful parish would yield greater economic benefits for all.

“In order to keep this going, we are still requiring the support of all of you, support of members of your communities, to ensure that we keep the economies growing. And why I’m saying that is we recognise that if we continue to work with the communities, events seem to be a great part of the economy, and we want to, as best as possible, work with the communities so that they can have their entertainment and economic activities safely,” said Samuels.

Samuels nonetheless issued a word of caution to the residents, reminding them that unstructured events tend to spawn lawlessness, so it was important that their events are properly vetted and sanctioned to ensure appropriate security support.

“What we have recognised over the years is that some violent incidents have occurred within these illegal parties,” said Samuels. “So we want to ensure that the structure is there, and we are allowing persons, as long as they’re upright citizens and the location is safe, and all the relevant authorities are in the loop, that we have no issues with ensuring that parties are kept and properly policed.”

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