By Adrian Frater, News EditorWESTERN BUREAU:
THE RESPONSIBILITY for securing the island's resorts has now been passed officially from the Resort Patrol Unit to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
In a ceremony in Montego Bay, which formalised the switch, Dr. Wykeham McNeill, State Minister of Tourism, said the move, which sees Montego Bay getting 40 specially trained personnel, and Negril and Ocho Rios getting 30 each, is designed to ensure the safety of visitors to the island.
"Tourism is dependent on a positive social environment to flourish," said Dr. McNeill. "We therefore need to re-double our effort to ensure that we create the necessary environment to ensure that our visitors have a positive vacation experience."
The new police team is under the command of Deputy Superintendent of Police Karina Powell-Hood, who was recently appointed the island's Police Tourism liaison officer.
The team is specially trained in immigration laws and groomed to handle hospitality issues.
Head of the Area One Police, Assistant Commissioner Linton Latty, said he expected the team to perform well during the upcoming winter tourist season, given their level of training.
In welcoming the new police unit, Winston Dear, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that while harassment was the greatest problem plaguing tourism, a special effort should be made to "differentiate between genuine friendship and harassment."
IMPORTANT INDUSTRY
"Tourism is our most important industry and we must protect it," said Mr. Dear, who encouraged the law enforcers to resist the temptation of those who might seek to corrupt them.
Dr. McNeill in the meantime said the role of the Resort Patrol is under review, with the possibility that the unit might be re-assigned to another area.
In a bid to ensure that the police properly meet its new mandate, Superintendent Newton Amos, the commanding officer for the St. James police, said he was calling on hoteliers to encourage visitors to co-operate with the police's investigation when there is a problem.
"We want their co-operation because we want the perpetrators of crime against visitors to feel the full weight of the law," said Superintendent Amos.
