Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
Newly-appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police, Charles Scarlett.
WESTERN BUREAU:
NEWLY-APPOINTED Deputy Commissioner of Police, Charles Scarlett, says the abundance of illegal guns is one of the main contributing factors behind St. James' high homicide rate.
Since the start of the year, 32 persons have been killed in the parish, which has been experiencing increased levels of homicides over the last three years.
"When you look at the homicides, 80 per cent are linked to the guns," said the senior officer.
"Seventy-seven guns were seized in the parish last year and in excess of 100 were recovered in Area One, that is to include Trelawny, Hanover and West-moreland."
According to DCP Scarlett, who recently served as head of the Area One Police Division, he had a "productive" five-month stint there and is looking forward to his new tasks in Kingston. He will have responsibility for the Operational Units within the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).
Mr. Scarlett said the major challenges of effective policing in St. James were squatter settlements, 17 of which can be found in the western city of Montego Bay, describing them as "incubators of crime".
UNSTRUCTURED COMMUNITIES
"Policing in unstructured communities brings about the issue of officer safety and community safety also comes to the fore," the 54-year-old policeman explained. He also added that there is room for improvement in the area of citizen cooperation with the police.
The DCP said that homicide reduction, road policing and the restoration of law and order in public places were priorities for the police division. While he admits that he did not achieve all that he had set out to do, he said he had some successes.
"I think I developed a more focused workforce; a little more order on the roadways and more visibility of uniformed police in the township of Montego Bay," he reported. "There was significant progress in developing public awareness of partnership with the citizens, and there was excellent corporate support out of Montego Bay."
He said the alliance with the business community impacted positively on the implementation of the Divisional Intelligence Unit (DIU), which is making inroads on criminals and their groupings.
He wishes his successor, ACP Keith 'Trinity' Gardner, full support of the men under his command.
"He should make his own assessment, as crime and criminality on a whole is dynamic and requires ongoing evaluation and implementation of new measures from time to time," DCP Scarlett concluded.
