Stephanie Elliot, Gleaner Writer
Elliott
CLARENDON HAS become a bloody parish. The usually laid- back parish has been transformed into a crime-fighting nightmare. However, the transformation did not happen overnight. There were early warning signs.
A few years ago, the 'One Order' gang started infiltrating the parish. Business owners were gripped with fear after letters demanding money and threats on their lives started circulating. At that time, it was evident that extortion, a monster that had already devoured Spanish Town, had arrived in Clarendon.
One senior police officer from Clarendon, at that time, theorised that unless something was done to arrest the migration of persons from Kingston and other volatile areas, police in that parish would soon have their hands full.
Her prediction bore fruit. Crime intensified in the parish in 2003, forcing the police to initiate strategies such as 'Operation Spring Clean' by Superintendent of police for the parish, Terrence Bent. The initiative targeted criminals involved in drug and gun-related activities.
'BULBIE' KILLED
But the tide of criminality continues unabated. The parish was thrown into turmoil on October 30 this year when Jamaica's most wanted criminal Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett was killed during an alleged gunbattle with police and military personnel.
Following his death, residents in the area claimed they had no idea that a fugitive lived among them. His death initially caused panic among residents of the parish, who feared that his cronies would begin killing them in retaliation for 'Bulbie's' death.
Since then, several people in Clarendon have been killed, among them businessman, Frederick Maragh, who was gunned down at a gas station which he operated in the parish for more than 30 years. Three members of one family were gunned down a week later in what police said was an arms deal gone sour. Acting Commissioner of Police, George Williams, said the men who had been killed had been in conflict with gang members from the Corporate Area and Spanish Town.
MIGRATING CRIMINALS
It is uncertain if the murders are linked to 'Bulbie's' death, but some residents are convinced that the murders are a fulfilment of threats to avenge the former 'Clansman' gang leader's death. However, blame has also been placed at the feet of migrating criminals who have settled in unplanned settlements.
There is also a clear link between drugs and the importation of guns into the parish's southern belt, especially Rocky Point, which the police have been examining.
"We are doing all we can to stem the flow of drugs into the parish, and are paying special attention to the importation of guns that are coming into that port of entry and exits," DSP Cleon Marsh said during a recent interview.
Rocky Point was not the only area with this sort of activity. He said that because of its geographical location it was susceptible to the trade. The areas is vulnerable, he said, as it is traditionally a fishing port, and sometimes even the fishermen get involved in the trade.
The police need to formulate new strategies to manage sensitive information from the public, and to act swiftly on that information.
This is not the Clarendon I love, seven years ago, it was not like this, we must return to the good old days where the police and the citizens had a degree of harmony in the parish, so we can rid ourselves of criminals.
I live here, my fellow Clarendonians, you live here as well, and we must make it so for the benefit of our children.
If you have information on activities in Clarendon you want to highlight, contact The Gleaner's woman on the ground, Stephanie Elliott, at 489-8553.
