By Adrian Frater, News EditorWESTERN BUREAU:
THE POLITICAL and business leadership in St. James are not seeing eye-to-eye with the police on how to stem the growing crime wave which has left 54 persons dead in the parish since January.
While they are calling for stronger policing, the cops are pointing to the absence of the required support mechanisms.
In a recent statement, Dr. Horace Chang, the Member of Parliament for St. James North West, where at least eight murders have taken place in areas such as Norwood, Flankers and Glendevon within the last month, said the police must take urgent steps to rein in the lawlessness. He pointed
to the need for improved intelligence gathering and community policing.
But, Superintendent Newton Amos, commanding officer for the parish, thinks the police are doing as much as they can. He noted that they have managed to penetrate crime-infested communities such as Rose Heights, Glendevon, Norwood, Flankers and Mt. Salem, which have all gained notoriety as a result of deadly gang feuds.
While residents are laying the blame for the parish's escalating crime wave on the activities of gangs, who are said to be battling for turf and bragging rights, Dr. Chang thinks that social problems such as poverty, unemployment and the absence of constructive social activities are to be blamed, especially in regards to the domestic murders.
"The crime situation is a complex one that needs a multi-faceted approach," said Dr. Chang, who intimated that crime had gone back to where it was following the lull that had occurred when Superintendent Amos took command of the parish back in January. "In the short term, we need extensive patrolling and better police intelligence."
TOURISM FEARS
While not yet pressing the panic button, business leaders in Montego Bay are becoming increasingly concerned about the situation. Godfrey Dyer, businessman and President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, is concerned about the murder rate.
"I am hoping that the police will get on top of the situation quickly because it has the potential to dampen everybody's hope," said Mr. Dyer, who is also the operator of the Wexford Court Hotel.
"It is not yet at a frightening state and it is our hope that it will not reach there. We are nonetheless quite concerned," he added.
With crime spiralling out of control last year, and the murder figures climbing to an unprecedented 83, shooting cases, 117, and robberies, 185, Superintendent Amos and crime chief Derrick Knight were sent to St. James with a mandate to bring the situation under control. The police hierarchy's hope was that they would create the impact they had previously made in battling crime in south St. Andrew.
However, based on the latest statistics, which see murders at 54 against 45 for the same period in 2002, and shootings at 73 against last year's 61, the figures are not encouraging.
"We are using the same strategies we used in south St. Andrew to bring down crime here," said Amos. He explained that there were now 24-hour foot patrols in areas where the police never previously ventured.
"We are confident we will succeed; we just want the people who are criticising us to come in sit with us and see what we are doing."
