A CENTRAL location is to be established by the police to receive information on the extortion racket said to be driving many Corporate Area businesses to the brink of bankruptcy.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, in an address to the nation last night to update the country on his administration's efforts to fight the growing crime problem, said the telephone number for the location will be published later this week.
When private sector leaders met with the Prime Minister last Friday to voice their disapproval at the "out-of- control" crime wave sweeping the country, the issue of protection money being paid by businesses in the downtown Kingston area in particular was discussed extensively.
The Gleaner had highlighted the problem in exposes published on Sunday, March 5 and on Friday, September 1.
But, in his address to the nation, Mr. Patterson said the power of the police to respond was "substantially curbed by the failure of the victims to report the cases".
He promised that more proactive action would be taken to bring the practice to an end. Effective immediately, the Prime Minister said, there would be a "strategic deployment of undercover policemen and agents in the areas which are most at risk."
Last Friday, The Gleaner reported that the extortion racket was costing downtown businesses some $400 million annually. The police admitted to being aware of the practice, but said they were powerless to do anything as those affected refused to report the matter because they were gripped by fear.
The Gleaner investigation found that even market vendors have been forced to pay $500 or more weekly to so-called area dons so they can ply their wares on the streets of downtown Kingston and in the markets.
Other business people were said to be paying between $20,000 and $50,000 per month. Those who refuse to pay have been threatened, maimed, killed or their businesses burnt.
