By Angelo Laurence, Gleaner WriterMANDEVILLE, Manchester:
MANDEVILLE HAS seen a check on escalating crime over the past year, the result of crime-fighting measures implemented by the town's police force to contain the problem.
At the heart of these measures is a stepped-up effort to develop deeper relations with residents through a community relations and policing campaign.
Long an advocate of community policing, Superintendent George Quallo, officer in charge of the Manchester Police, is pleased with the progress being made to get residents involved.
He is, however, concerned about the increase in incidents of domestic violence, a concern shared by Deputy Superintendent Mitchell, officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).
According to the Mandeville Police there have been approximately 200 incidents of domestic violence in the parish this year, and it is considered one of the most difficult of all criminal activities to police.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
According to Corporal Verona Johnson of the Community Relations division, domestic violence is very rarely premeditated and is often the culmination of a long-standing problem.
When and where the problem will manifest itself, and what preventative measures to institute are very hard for the police to determine, if not brought into the situation early, according to Cpl. Johnson.
To help deal with the issue, a Community Counselling and Restorative Justice Centre was opened on October 23, in the RADA building on Caledonia Road to offer a variety of services directly related to the prevention, detection and counselling of those involved in domestic violence.
The centre is the end result of the efforts of Detective Sergeant Clovis Todd of the Mandeville Police, Dr. Grace Kelly of Northern Caribbean University (NCU) and Resident Magistrate Oswald Burchanson of the local Resident Magistrate's Court.
Det. Sgt. Todd said the centre will help to restore the dignity, protect the sanity and integrity of victims of the constantly increasing incidents of rape, incest, carnal abuse and family disputes.
A release from the centre says its objective will be to provide an interdisciplinary programme which aims to assist people who are affected, directly or indirectly, by the ill-effects of crime and violence, and to facilitate their rehabilitation.
The target groups include survivors of rape, physical abuse, indecent assault, and trauma resulting from gang activities.
While the services are primarily geared to assist victims of crimes, the facility's services are also available to perpetrators of such crimes.
COUNSELLORS
Counsellors will be pulled from the staff and student body of the NCU who have or are majoring in Psychology at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and will be supervised by clinicians with minimum qualifications of a Master's degree.
Guest speaker at the opening, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Hon. A.J. Nicholson, said the establishment of the centre was a welcome initiative.
He said the concept of mediation and conflict resolution and restorative justice, are practical solutions to re-establishing the balance in relationships which have been broken.
The use of such centres as part of the overall effort to restore order within the society, he said, is an approach that must be encouraged.
