Police strengthen presence to prevent reprisal in Hanover double murder

WESTERN BUREAU:

The police in Hanover have stepped up their campaign against gangs and have taken steps to prevent a reprisal to Wednesday night’s double murder in Green Island.

Those murdered were 35-year-old businessman Romaine Jones and 56-year-old Elsworth Foster, alias ‘Bower’, a jerk chicken vendor. Both were from the Green Island area.

According to reports, the incident occurred at approximately 10 p.m. as Jones was in the process of buying chicken from Foster when gunmen attacked, shooting both individuals. They were rushed to hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The police are reporting that they are following strong leads about the double murder even while a motive for the killing has not yet been established.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Rohan Fletcher outlined that they have since beefed up the security presence in the area.

“We have specialised operations support, outside support, the support of the military, and support from the HQ, so we have four additional units with teams as big as eight persons on a team now in the space, and we have been there since 20 minutes after the incident,” he said.

He again emphasised that the police have the capacity to solve crimes, but the key rests in getting information and evidence, and for that to happen, he urged witnesses to “come to court”.

The killings are the first of this year in Hanover, which experienced a watershed year in 2023 with a record 173 major crimes committed across the parish.

Topping the list were 72 murders, 44 shootings, 11 robberies, 19 cases of rape, nine cases of aggravated assault, 16 break-ins and two regular cases of larceny.

In comparison, there were 44 murders committed in Hanover in 2022. The percentage increase of 63.6 is the highest islandwide. The parish with the nearest percentage increase to Hanover was St Ann, with 17.9, from 67 murders in 2022 to 79 in 2023.

As he presented his report at the monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation yesterday, Fletcher said that they are on high alert and determined that a repeat of those statistics cannot be allowed for 2024.

“For the year (2023), we experienced mostly gang-related gun attacks. The majority of our murders and shootings were against gang members and were gang-related, with very few of them in regards to regular citizens,” analysed Fletcher.

At the same time, he expressed concerns over the level of cooperation that the police are getting from some residents in the parish, arguing that the “informer fi dead culture” is getting the better of some persons, who are also seeking their own ways and means of exacting justice.

“The challenge is with convincing our citizens that they need to give us a statement and come to court,” he said, adding that in some instances, witnesses “might start the process and then they go missing”.

GANGS RECRUITING SCHOOLCHILDREN

A major part of their overall strategy to deal with crime, Fletcher noted, is arresting student involvement in gangs, which have turned their attention to recruiting children.

“You have children at the primary schools who are showing gang signs. There are gang markings on school compounds. It is even more evident in the high schools,” DSP Fletcher stated.

He named the Green Island and Rhodes Hall high schools in western Hanover as two institutions where the police have identified the problem of gang influence.

The deputy superintendent noted that the statement from the Ministry of Education that every child must be in school has somewhat restricted action that can be taken by the police against some of the problem children.

Fletcher pointed out that at times when the children are suspended or expelled from one school and they are transferred to another school, “it’s like transferring the problem from one school to another”.

bryan.miller@gleanerjm.com