Urgent need for CCTV cameras to deter crime

THE EDITOR, Madam:

THE PERCEPTION of local motorcyclists generally is a very negative one. This perception has revved up gradually over the past decade because of numerous contract-style killings, robberies and reckless riding associated with motorcyclists. The mere sound of a motorcycle is troubling and anxiety-inducing to many motor car drivers who drive on Kingston and St Andrew roads.

To add fuel to the fire of negative perception that surrounds motorcycle riders, recently there was an early morning robbery and injury-inducing i ncident which took place on Hope Road, in front of Jamaica House. Two men on a motorcycle pounced upon two young men who were changing a punctured tyre of the SUV they were travelling in. After stealing a Rolex watch, the men on the motorcycles sped away via Ardemne Road. More recently, a female attorney who reportedly had been trailed by two men on a motorcycle, was shot and killed in the morning hours on Dunrobin Avenue. Once again, the perpetrators fled the scene.

In both aforementioned incidents, had CCTV cameras captured footage of those crimes, both of which took place on major thoroughfares, the police investigating in these incidents would be in a far better position to track down and arrest the perpetrators.

It is a massive disappointment and disadvantage that in 2024 a basic-but-highly critical crime-deterring and crime-solving tool such as CCTV cameras is so glaringly missing from our roads. No wonder criminals on motorcycles in Jamaica are so confident.

PATRICK GALLIMORE pagalley@protonmail.com