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Parliament extends Denham Town, Mount Salem ZOSOs again

Published:Tuesday | June 12, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Holness... the Government is seeking to address "the root" of the problem and not the symptoms like murders and shootings.

Brian Walker, Parliamentary Reporter

The House of Representatives has approved 60-day extensions for the Zones of Special  Operations (ZOSOs) in Denham Town, Kingston and Mount Salem, St James. 

Prime Minister Andrew Holness in moving the resolution said, under the security measure, there has been no murder in Mount Salem and in Denham Town there has been none since operations were intensified following killings in the ZOSO.

Holness said, however, that there are still issues related to domestic and interpersonal violence in both ZOSOs.

Meanwhile, the prime minister asserted that the residents of Mount Salem have been the biggest supporters of the ZOSO.

He said under the build phase of the ZOSO, the residents have embraced intervention programmes.

Fitz Jackson, Opposition Spokesman on National Security welcomed the reduction in crimes, but argued that the Government should be wary of creating a false sense of security based on the success of ZOSOs in only two parishes. 

This is the fifth extension for the Mount Salem ZOSO, which took effect on September 1, 2017, and the fourth for Denham Town, which became operational on October 17, 2017. 

Holness said the Government was seeking to address "the root" of the problem and not the symptoms like murders and shootings. 

At the same time, Prime Minister Holness has placed the Opposition on notice for the upcoming review of the ZOSO Act, which was enacted in July last year. 

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