Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
MORE THAN a decade ago, the Government proposed a zero tolerance approach in managing crime. This included penalising minor offenders for littering, smoking of ganja as well as traffic violations.
Judges were called upon to sentence offenders to hours of community service such as street sweeping and the painting of public buildings.
But are the police taking a zero tolerance approach to crime?
Last Friday, a Gleaner news team went to the Mandela Park in Half-Way Tree Square, St. Andrew and observed a number of illegal activities.
While a handful of uniformed personnel from the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) stood on the outskirts of the park monitoring motorists, less than 20 metres away, scores of men were deeply involved in illegal gambling inside Mandela Park.
ATMOSPHERE POLLUTED
Some were observed throwing a dice, while another group played dominoes with paper money on the table and on the ground. The atmosphere was polluted with urine and a strong scent of ganja.
The men around the gambling area were involved in loud conversations, using curse words. At one stage, two of them came close to 'knocking fists'. In another section of the park, a man was observed harassing a frightened looking schoolgirl.
On the western side of the park, two persons seemed to have installed make-shift photo studios. The park was buzzing with activity and occupied by both sane and apparently mentally ill persons.
On the outskirts of the park, on Constant Spring Road, motorists were observed speeding and overtaking on the unbroken white line. Taxis and buses stopped in between "no parking signs" picking up and letting off passengers.
Taxis with both white and red licence plates were observed parked illegally on Hope, Constant Spring and Half Way Tree Roads.
Read about more public disorder in tomorrow's Gleaner.
