St Catherine South reaps success in crime fight

WHILE ITS neighbouring police division, St Catherine North, enters week two of a state of emergency imposed to contain runaway crime, St Catherine South has been reaping the benefits of a sustained fight against gangs.

Headquartered at the informally known ‘Hundred Man Station’ in 2 North, Greater Portmore, the St Catherine South Police Division covers the wide expanse of Portmore in addition to spreading as far as Old Harbour.

PROACTIVE POLICING

The division stretches t o Hellshire in the south and also has responsibility for a part of Ferr y on the border of St Andrew, as well as the hot spot of Central Village, the gateway to troubled Spanish Town.

Commanding officer Clive Blair pointed to successes St Catherine South has had by being proactive, targeting criminal outfits such as the Umbrella Gang f or the l ast decade, as well as constant monitoring of coastal areas, roadways, beaches, inlets, harbours and fishing villages to head off the dreaded drugs-for-guns trade with Haiti.

“We have recovered 16 guns since the start of the year, five more than this time last year,” he told The Gleaner.

He explained that the men and women under his command have been manning various routes into Portmore, ensuring criminals looking to escape the state of emergency dragnet in Spanish Town and its environs won’t infiltrate and blend into St Catherine South – as occurred when three fleeing members of Montego Bay’s G City Gang were found in St Catherine North.