Police looking to cool down Hanover hotspots
THE HANOVER division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has been utilising a number of measures to cool down several hotspots in the parish.
Montpelier in eastern Hanover, and Green Island in the western section of the parish, are both under the watchful eyes of the Hanover division. as they are now regarded as hotspots, with the potential for violent flare-ups at any time.
“The fact is, we are having challenges in two major areas within the (Hanover) division. I will hasten to say that we are having the greater of the two challenges in Green Island, and the second being in the Montpelier area of Sandy Bay,” deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in Lucea, Hanover, Carl Brown, outlined. He was tabling a report from the police at the Hanover Municipal Corporation’s (HMC) April monthly meeting.
As a matter of fact, Brown has identified Montpelier in Hanover Eastern as a “sitting time bomb”, based on a recent murder which was committed in that area.
He noted t hat t here are two fighting factions i n the Montpelier area which are both known to the police, and, as such, mitigating action has been put in place by the JCF to prevent any retaliation or further criminal behaviour stemming from the most recent killing.
Crime i s worse i n Hanover Western, and given the number of murders committed right across the parish, curfews have been imposed recently and more security personnel have been placed on the ground.
Brown said that 2024 started in a bad way for the police in Hanover, with four murders in January, two in February, two in March, and five so far in April.
“As it stands now, however, the good news is that we are about six (murders) less than we were this time last year (2023),” he pointed out.
With a 48-hour curfew established i n Green Island between Sunday, April 7 and Monday, April 8, and extended for two extra days to end on Wednesday, the DSP explained that such emphasis had to be placed as a preventative measure.
“Since the start of the year, we have a total of 13 murders reported to date (within the parish), and, of those 13, 10 were committed in the Green Island area,” he explained.
He said that a known violence producer in the Green Island area, Wayne Phillips, was killed on Thursday, April 4 and, based on an assessment of the situation, it was decided that, “If not managed properly, this incident could give us some reprisal.”
The police subsequently theorised that a wanton drive-by shooting in the Green Island area on Saturday, April 6, in which one person was killed and two persons injured, was connected to the murder of Phillips. Thus the curfew.
“Since then, we have kind of pulled back things, due to the fact that we have employed the use of the curfew, and that ended last evening (Wednesday) and we intend to use another until we can put a handle on things,” he stated.
DSP Brown commended the support that the JCF is getting from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) personnel i n Hanover, adding that the JCF will continue to utilise the assistance being given.
“For the time being, they (the JDF) are assisting us greatly in Green Island and Montpelier, and we will continue to use all resources available to us, as well as the curfew, to see how best we can cauterise what is happening, until we can ensure that the citizens of Hanover feel safe again,” he emphasised.