Gareth Davis, Gleaner WriterTHE VIGILANCE of the police in Portland has kept crime down to a minimum this festive season, prompting many local residents and business operators to laud the beefed-up crime-fighting initiative.
Unlike several other parishes which were plagued by crime and violence throughout the Christmas season, the parish of Portland was largely incident-free as police personnel were dispatched to almost every community throughout the parish.
Superintendent of police in Portland Calvin Bowen, said the coordination paid off in preserving the integrity of the parish. This was achieved by round- the-clock policing.
"Portland citizens are law-abiding," said Superintendent Bowen. "And we also went out in our numbers. There were also uniformed police officers, plain clothes personnel along with officers from the special squad who worked relentlessly."
Superintendent Bowen said that the crime trend was carefully looked at by station commanders and a management team was assigned to examine the crime figures relating to the Christmas period of December to January dating from 2002-2004. Trends were discovered with major crimes such as robbery, shooting and sexual offences.
NIGHT PATROLLING
"This was done leading up to the Christmas season of this year," the superintendent added. "Various strategies were implemented and most emphasis was placed on night patrolling. Personnel from the Criminal Investigative Branch (CIB) kept a close watch on the various financial institutions."
But while the police have managed to contain or at least put a lid on criminal activities throughout the parish temporarily, Superintendent Bowen said that the work has only just started and that the police will by no means relax over the New Year's weekend.
"We do not intend to get careless as criminal elements could take advantage of the situation. Instead we will continue to deploy our officers in the streets to ensure that residents and business operators are protected and will feel safe to conduct
normal operations."
So far, police vigilance has also paid off and has accounted for the apprehension of three wanted men who were captured in May, September and October of this year. The three were wanted for a series of crimes (including murder and shooting) committed in Spanish Town as well as Kingston and St. Andrew.
Since 2005 there have been 19 cases of rape reported of which 11 have been cleared up, and 14 cases of carnal abuse, of which 10 have been cleared up.
In the meantime, Superintendent Bowen said that it is his intention to have police officers trained in the special areas of dealing with rape and carnal abuse, so as to speed up investigation and also to provide counselling to any affected persons.
