Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
THOMAS
COMMISSIONER OF Police, Lucius Thomas, yesterday said he will not allow any politician to dictate to him how he should do his job.
"I'm not working with politicians," declared Commissioner Thomas while responding to comments made by Jamaica Labour Party Leader Bruce Golding and for Central St. Catherine Opposition Member of Parliament Olivia 'Babsy' Grange. Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Jamaica Defence Force have been conducting joint operations in the Ellerslie Pen and Tawes Pen areas of St. Catherine since Wednesday morning.
Ms. Grange has accused the security forces of targeting sections of her constituency for political reasons. She argued that the areas under curfew are peaceful at the moment, while the areas where people are being killed frequently, have been ignored.
Speaking at a political meeting in West Kingston Wednesday night, Mr. Golding told party supporters that if the security forces continue to operate in this manner, "then it is going to be 'bangarang' in Jamaica."
However, Commissioner Thomas said he is not bothered by the political rhetoric. "Intelligence has pointed out to us that the area where we are now is a centre for criminal activity," noted the police commissioner. "People are saying that there is no crime taking place in these communities, but they are centres from where criminals leave to commit crimes in other areas," emphasised the top cop.
Mr. Thomas stressed that wherever crime is taking place, the police will be going there. He noted that the Spanish Town area is one of several communities with a high murder rate over the past year.
Up to yesterday, more than 50 people were murdered in the St. Catherine North Police Division which covers the hotbed of Spanish Town. At least 437 people have been killed in the country since the start of the year.
Miss Grange, the Central St. Catherine MP, said the Ellerslie Pen community was invaded by gunmen recently, leaving at least six persons dead and several others injured. "I will support the police in whatever they do in the fight against crime in Spanish Town, but their action of focusing on Ellerslie and Tawes Pen has sent the wrong message that they (the residents) are specifically being targeted because of their political persuasion, " said Miss Grange.
She expressed concern about the temporary holding area which was set up by the soldiers on the dusty playground of Ellerslie Pen, with barbed-wire fencing.
While some of the more than 100 men detained during the operations were held there for long periods, others were reportedly taken to the Spanish Town Police Station, processed and released in the wee hours of Thursday morning. The police said yesterday that 13 of those detained are still being processed.
