Defeating crime in St James will take all hands on deck - Deputy Commish
Published:Tuesday | December 12, 2017 | 12:00 AMPaul Clarke
With upwards of 310 murders committed in St James alone since the start of the year, the police say they are confident that an eight-point plan to rid the tourist capital of wanton criminality and indiscipline will be successful.
The plan was laid out during a high stakes meeting of several top brass police personnel at the Commissioner’s office in St Andrew yesterday.
“All of us should be aware that police on its own cannot in isolation defeat crime; it will take the input of the society on a whole, and once we can get the people working with us, we would have been half way in being successful,” said Clifford Blake, deputy commissioner in charge of the strategic operations portfolio.
He told The Gleaner this morning that, apart from tackling illegal vending and the worsening traffic congestion factors, the effective deployment of resources across the parish was an important element in defeating crime.
In addition, he said breaking the back of organised crime through strong collaboration between the Financial Investigation Division (FID), the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch (C-TOC) and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) will be among the main instruments to be employed.
“All the eight factors we have listed will be contributing to this fight against crime. If we can successfully treat with the manifestation of indiscipline in all its forms while being proactive, then I think we will gain the support of the people and put criminals and their activities in their rightful place,” said Blake.
Eight-point plan
Improving intelligence capacity
Enhancing investigative capabilities
Greater use of technology to assist with investigations
Reviewing and redefining the divisional command and staff structure
Increasing collaboration with local, regional and international law enforcement authorities, especially transnational and financial crimes
Strengthening partnerships with various public and private sector stakeholders
Boosting the morale of staff through increased training and development for persons within St James division.
Enhancing community collaboration with community stakeholders and groups