THE SPATE of crime and violence in Spanish Town has posed serious challenges to the post office there, as constant flare-ups have driven fear into customers.
"We are definitely affected by the crime and violence that is plaguing Spanish Town daily," said Sophia Brown, who has been the postmaster of Spanish Town since January. "It has driven fear into residents of the town and others who have to use the post office. This has adversely affected our operations in many instances. We receive calls daily, from customers who are afraid to visit the post office, asking us if it is safe to come to the section of the town where we are located (near to the courthouse and Parish Council offices). We have to close early sometimes."
The postmaster's view was supported by her immediate supervisor, acting Regional Inspector Martin Grant, and Deputy Postmaster for Spanish Town Mavis Somers-Evans, who also sat in for the interview.
Despite the daily challenge of crime and violence in surrounding areas, the Spanish Town Post Office remains extremely busy, and continues to play a very vital role for the communities it serves. It is a 'feeder' or re-distribution point for mail destined for areas served by 14 other post offices and agencies.
In addition, it has 19 postmen making street deliveries to 30 per cent of the households in Spanish Town, while the other 70 per cent visit the post office to receive their mail by general delivery. As there are literally thousands of households in Spanish Town, as many as six members of staff have been deployed daily to attend to the general delivery counters.
RETURNED MAIL
Against this background, the Spanish Town postmaster said: "We therefore welcome the plan to install private letter boxes at community sites and other locations in close proximity to the residences and business clusters. We have had numerous requests for them.
"We have had a lot of returned mail because customers failed to come in to collect them, especially utility bills. The efficiency of mail delivery will be greatly improved with the installation of the private letter boxes. We will be encouraging those who would benefit from having one to apply for it when it becomes available in their community scheme or a location near to it."
The Spanish Town Post Office attracts very large crowds, especially on days when the Government's Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), and its National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits are being paid out. Thousands of beneficiaries live in Spanish Town or receive their entitlements through the post office.
A large number of customers use the Paymaster service, especially at month-end, when utility bills are due for payment.
Asked about planned improvements of the services that the Spanish Town Post Office delivers to its customers, Mrs. Brown said: "Improvements are planned for the senior citizens and the disabled, in particular. We are grateful to Food For the Poor, whose offices are in Spanish Town, for donating several soft chairs which we have placed in our customer service area. We are working to remove the mentally challenged persons who frequently lodge themselves at the entrance to the post office or sleep at nights in the passageway from which private letter boxes are accessed.
"Additionally, we plan to install dividing rails in the customer service area, to ensure orderliness and faster service delivery. We are reviewing our security to make further improvements that will reduce our vulnerability, especially given the prevailing volatile atmosphere in the town."
