Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

Jamaica's murder capital has switched from the once bloody streets of the St. Andrew South Police Division, to the hills and valleys of St. James, the parish with the mega tourist attractions.

Up to yesterday, police records were showing that 102 persons had been murdered since the start of the year. Of that number, St. James was ahead with 20 homicides, with St. Andrew South lying in fourth position with 13, four fewer than the figure for the corresponding period last year.

Doing things differently

"For more than a decade, St. Andrew South has been the murder capital of the nation. Last year, we ended with 196 murders, but we have been doing things differently this year," commented Deputy Superintendent of Police Michael Hugh Phipps, crime officer for the division.

The police in the division are involved in the planning and execution of more targeted raids, designed to take charge of the space normally occupied by criminals.

"As a result of this, they (the criminals) have been forced to flee to areas outside of the division,"explained DSP Phipps.

He said the police have been getting a higher level of cooperation from the citizens, in addition to assistance from the divisional intelligence unit, which has been working overtime.

This was evident yesterday when the senior officer and his roving team seized a Uzi sub-machine gun, following a shoot-out in the volatile Maverley community. When the shooting subsided, the police said an unidentified man who challenged them had been killed.

In a recent interview with The Gleaner Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas described St. Andrew South as a model division, based on the successes achieved there last year.