Denise Clarke, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE POLICE in Montego Bay have arrested and charged five people with breaches of the Anti-Litter Act, as vendors crowd the city's streets to take advantage of the back-to-school shopping.
Constable Peter Salkey, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) liaison officer for St. James, said the five were arrested during police operations between last Friday and Sunday along Barnett Street and St. James Street, where hundreds of street vendors have concentrated their activities.
He said the police also seized a quantity of goods which included food, clothing and household items.
Secretary/manager of the St. James Parish Council, Lilieth Allen, who has been advocating for patrons of illegal sellers to be penalised, again noted that the law should be amended to allow for their prosecution.
Mrs. Allen told The Gleaner on Tuesday that means have to be found to curtail the vending.
"If there are no buyers, there will be no sellers."
The city has provided alternate vending areas in the form of markets and arcades, but in the case of the largest of these facilities, the Charles Gordon Market, sections are empty, as the vendors have refused to make full use of the facility, Mrs. Allen said.
Mrs. Allen also expressed concern that each time the illegal vendors are removed, they return to the streets within a short time.
"Some of them have shops in the arcades, but they use it only to store the goods they sell on the street," she said.
