‘They will turn on you’

“Enough is enough!”

Rocked by an increase in murders in his constituency, St James Southern Member of Parliament Homer Davis has declared it time for Jamaicans to stop protecting criminals.

He said that many families have been robbed of their breadwinners and argued that the “wanton shootings and murders” cannot be allowed to continue.

In his contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Davis said that up to September 26 this year, 26 murders had been committed in his constituency, compared to 18 for the entire 2021.

“Enough is enough, and as member of Parliament, I am prepared to do everything within the law and within my powers to help the security forces to weed out the criminals from St James Southern,” he said.

Davis explained that the northwestern parish had recorded 342 murders in 2018, and after a state of emergency was imposed in early 2019, murders fell dramatically to 102.

“This speaks volumes to the effectiveness of the state of emergency, not just in St James, but across Jamaica,” he said.

He urged residents to play their part in fighting crime by telling the police what they know, refraining from shielding criminals and putting an end to washing bloodied clothing and hiding guns for criminals.

“Stop protecting these criminals because soon and very soon, they will turn on you,” he warned.

Davis expressed hope that the new Firearms Act, which was recently passed in the House, would help to curb gun crimes and urged those in possession of illegal firearms to take full advantage of any gun amnesty.

Meanwhile, Davis proposed that the Ministry of National Security join forces with the education ministry to rehabilitate a teacher's cottage at Niagara Primary School and retrofit it as a police station to serve the southernmost part of the constituency.

“The nearest police station from that locale is between an hour and a half and two hours drive. I am also making the suggestion that the Government moves swiftly to assign social workers to police stations. I have seen where small domestic disputes end up in three, four, five, and six murders,” said Davis, who is also the state minister in the Office of the Prime Minister – West.

He said that social workers can win the trust of citizens and could be critical in resolving disputes before they escalate.

Davis also called for the construction of sub fire stations in Cambridge and Maroon Town.

“To get from Barnett Street Fire Station to Cambridge is a 35- to 40-minute drive, and to get to Maroon Town is a similar time period. Madam Speaker, this can't work. We need to make sure that we have first responders in these rural townships who can deal with emergencies,” he said in his address.

Davis said that since the start of the year, there have been 40 fires in his constituency, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com