... Cops: No scaling down in St James
WITH REGARD to concerns that residents are no longer seeing the robust militar y-police presence, which was evident in St James for most of January and February, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell says that there has been no scaling down of resources assigned to the ongoing state of emergency (SOE) in the parish.
Powell, who is responsible for the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) side of the SOE in St James, says that residents can, therefore, rest assured that the operation is in full effect and that there are no loopholes for gangsters to exploit.
“We are still monitoring all the critical checkpoints, and we are constantly monitoring all the displaced spaces,” said Powell.
After a record 335 murders in 2017 and starting 2018 with another 10 killed, Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared an SOE in St James on January 18, giving the security forces extraordinary powers to go out and stem the lawlessness, which had all but crippled social and commercial life in the parish.
While several top-flight gangsters, including members of the Canterbury-based Nation Crocs and the Flanker-based Sparta gang, were arrested and several high-powered weapons seized, there are indications that many of the parish’s thugs, especially those with significant resources, fled the parish before the security forces were able to get to them.
Residents of St James are now basking in the new-found peace, with just four additional murders since the start of the SOE, but have been consistently expressing their fears about what will happen after the security forces leave.