Lucea police lock-up closed for repairs

Western Bureau:

As a result of the deplorable state of the lock-up at the Hanover Police Divisional Headquarters in Lucea, some of the prisoners have been transferred and the facility closed to undergo immediate repairs.

The facility, which is the only one used for the detention of male prisoners in the parish, will be out of commission for approximately two to three months to facilitate repairs and refurbishing. Males arrested and charged in the parish have been transferred to the Barnett Street Police Station lock-up in Montego Bay, St James. This arrangement will remain in place until the work in Lucea is complete.

The lock-up facilities for females and children in the parish - the police post in Bustamante Square, Lucea, and the Kingsvale Police Station - remain intact.

The condition at the Lucea lock-up came in recently for special attention after visiting justices of the peace identified several shortcomings, which had prompted several visits by the Hanover Health Department. A decision was subsequently taken to close the lock-up and effect the required repairs.

According to Superintendent Sharon Beeput, who heads the Hanover Police Division, there is still an active holding area at the divisional headquarters, where apprehended persons are held until they are transported to Montego Bay.

In 2017, when the Montego Freeport lock-up in St James was closed by the St James Health Department, several prisoners from St James were transported to and held in the lock-up facilities at the Divisional Headquarters in Lucea.