Doubt, hope clash amid new round of SOEs

Clarendon political representatives are split on the effectiveness of states of emergency (SOE) in the wake of Tuesday’s imposition of a fresh clampdown in the central Jamaica parish.

SOEs were also declared in the St Ann and Kingston Western police divisions.

The Office of the Prime Minister said that the decision was triggered by a “surge in criminal activities’’ in those areas.

Up to February 12, Clarendon saw a 200 per cent increase in murders, having recorded 15 compared to five over the corresponding period of 2022.

Two men were murdered in separate incidents in the parish on Tuesday.

May Pen Mayor Winston Maragh said the upsurge in criminal violence caused the Government to spring into action.

Referencing cross-parish migration of criminals, the mayor suggested that dispersion was a natural consequence of the crackdown.

Councillor Kenneth Davis, who represents the May Pen East division in Clarendon Central, has welcomed the measure.

“It’s just a pity we have to do this, and law-abiding citizens going about their wholly business are inconvenienced, but we have to put a stem in it,’’ Davis told The Gleaner.

However, Clarendon South Western Member of Parliament Lothan Cousins dismissed the use of SOEs as unconstitutional, adding that he was deeply concerned over what he called the ‘’militarisation of the Jamaica Constabulary Force”.

That view is in sync with several opposition lawmakers, who have not the supported the extension of recent SOEs beyond their initial 14-day lifespan. A vote from an opposition lawmaker is required for the two-thirds approval threshold in the Senate.

The Holness Government and security force heads have insisted that SOEs are a bona fide crime-fighting tool.

“I’m also concerned about the high level of traffic which is generated by the police checkpoints which are placed across the parish. Historically, we have seen a situation where what would normally be a five- to 10-minute drive results in over an hour of delays in traffic,” said Cousins.

“We have also noticed that in some instances, after a week or so, the checkpoints are unmanned, and all that remains on location is the portable toilets which are placed there.”

Uphell Purcell, councillor for the York Town division, also has reservations about the usefulness of SOEs. Purcell charged that crime fighting warranted a different, more strategic approach.

“The SOE comes with no benefit because as soon as things happen, the police come in and do some search, and that is it. You find that all the criminals are out in their numbers again, and what I notice is that the criminals cool down at a particular time, but it’s not the state of emergency that affect them to cool down,’’ he theorised.

Clarendon has the third-highest number of murders across all police divisions this year, Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson has said.

In a statement issued Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Andrew Holness blamed organised gangs as “the main source and cause of violence, leading to fear and terror in some communities. The Government must protect innocent citizens from these criminal gangs and therefore must act”.

Up to February 10, Kingston Western had the highest number of murders and shooting incidents across all police divisions, with 17 and 12, respectively.

That represents a 31 per cent rise in murders and a 20 per cent jump in shootings.

St Ann has recorded a 22 per cent increase in murders, from nine to 11, as at February 11.