(Jamaica Observer) The declaration of a state of public emergency (SOE) in Clarendon yesterday was greeted with cautious optimism by some residents and business operators.
“When mi hear it pon di radio dis mawning, a di sweetest thing. A di best thing ever happened to Clarendon,” a vendor who plies his wares in May Pen, the parish capital and largest town, told the Jamaica Observer shortly after midday.
“A long time SOE fi come a May Pen. Long, long time dem fi pitch tent down a Denbigh, Crawl Road and Train Road. When dem [criminals] ready dem rob yuh, tek yuh phone and if yuh nuh have nuh money fi give dem, dem beat yuh. Is the worse mi ever see it; man a dead like a leaf a drop off a tree,” the vendor said, adding that he has been selling in the capital for 15 years.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the special security measure at a news conference at Jamaica House yesterday morning. He also said that an SOE was being imposed in the neighbouring parish of St Catherine.
Yesterday, when the Observer visited communities in Clarendon, residents spoke on condition of anonymity. Some were happy with the measure, while others said they would wait to see if it will reduce crime and violence in the parish.
An elderly woman seen in a store in May Pen, and who expressed frustration with the 100 murders that have been recorded in Clarendon since January, made callous remarks as she related that criminals have been wreaking havoc in the parish.
At the same time, another woman who was inside the store chimed in, “It too late, it shoulda deh yah long time.”
Insisting that the measure was necessary, the elderly woman said: “Better late than never. Dem fi drop one [checkpoint] inna di town. All under di basket dem and inna di handbag dem fi search.”
Hours after the declaration the Observer only found two checkpoints in the parish. One at Chapelton Road and another at the Sevens Road and Oliver Drive intersection.
However, the police were unable to state where, if any, other checkpoints were set up.
“Long time it should a deh yah,” a resident of Oliver Drive told the Observer as she sat inside her yard.
The woman, while noting that the community has not had a curfew in quite a while, said she noticed the presence of the joint forces in the community approximately 5:30 am.
Admitting that the police would patrol the community from time to time, she said, “A long time we nuh get curfew, so mi please wid it. Yuh hear how di community calm?”
Another woman who was seen in the vicinity of Humble Lion Football Club in Effortville said: “I will have to wait and see the result to know if it makes any sense.”
Business operators in May Pen, while welcoming the security measure, questioned the absence of a checkpoint in the square.
Noting that up to Wednesday there was an incident in May Pen involving some teenage boys, one business operator said it was the Zones of Special Operation that should have been declared in the parish instead.
At the same time, she said she’s waiting to see the results of the SOE.
Minutes after 2:00 pm Jamaica Defence Force soldiers were seen patrolling the busy business district.
In York Town, the residents too welcomed the initiative and expressed similar concerns.
“Mi feel more secure, a little safer. Is a good ting still, but I hope it will reduce crime,” one woman said.
At the announcement of the SOEs yesterday, Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson said crime has been escalating in the parishes, with Clarendon recording the highest number of murders for a police division since January.
He said the parish, which has had 100 killings so far, has historically been one of the most violent divisions in the country.
There have been 91 homicides in St Catherine South, a 50 per cent increase in murders over last year this time.
Another 66 people have been murdered in the Clarendon North division, a 14 per cent drop over the similar period of 2018, the commissioner said.
“The gang warfare and other criminal acts perpetrated by gangs have caused fear among citizens and have caused the disruption of livelihoods in sections of the parishes. The fear that is associated with this level of violence has undermined the daily lives of these communities and residents,” he asserted.
The police chief argued that the other SOEs have proven that the security measure is effective in reducing violent crime.
He pointed to a reduction in murders in St James, Westmoreland and Hanover of 24, 61, and 50 per cent, respectively, compared with the similar period prior to the declaration of SOEs in those parishes.
Furthermore he said, in St Andrew South there has been a five per cent decline in murders compared to the similar period before the SOE.
General Anderson said that 73 firearms have been recovered in St James this year, 10 more compared to the similar period last year. He said the recovery of 4,500 rounds of ammunition represents a tripling of what was recovered during the corresponding period of 2018.
“This is indicative of a lot of the work that’s being done under the ambit of the states of emergency, including community interventions [and] building out our intelligence network,” he said.
Commissioner Anderson said the police have been securing convictions for gun offences using scientific evidence in the courts. “In one week we had 22 convictions in the high court in St James,” the JCF head disclosed.
He reiterated that the objectives of the SOEs are to establish and maintain a period of low violent crime in the volatile communities within these parishes, curtail the free movement of gangs and weapons, disrupt criminal enterprise and provide opportunity for greater investigative focus on perpetrators of violent crime.
Commissioner Anderson noted that there will be inconveniences, but that the security forces need the support of all Jamaicans.
In the meantime, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said the authorities are aware that gangs have been making changes in their criminal operations, and that the security forces have also been making their own adjustments.
The SOEs will initially be for 14 days, after which the prime minister will have to seek Parliamentary approval for an extension.
