Chamber seeking crime solutions in St Mary

Even though murder figures in the parish showed a slight decline in 2019 compared to the previous year, the St Mary Chamber of Commerce is seeking to work with the police and other stakeholders on cutting the figure even further.

In 2017, there were 24 murders in St Mary with the figure jumping to 36 in 2018 before settling at 30 last year, thanks mainly to increased police intervention.

One such move by law enforcement was the ‘A Nicer Bay’ initiative, which was aimed at making Annotto Bay a ‘nicer’ town and, therefore, reducing the number of murders.

But Chamber President Frederick Young believes more needs to be done, as the murder figure is still too high. He has offered the chamber’s assistance in arriving at solutions, even suggesting ways in which the business organisation might be able to help.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

“Thirty murders in 2019, slightly less than the previous year, but what we see as a concern is that domestic violence seems to be on the rise, where persons are not reasoning out things. They are more trying to create mayhem by applying violent ways to deal with the problem,” Young explained.

“The chamber is ready to work with the police and other stakeholders to see if we can come to some solution, maybe go into the schools to talk to the students from an early stage to really guide them into positive thinking, positive outcomes, rather than thinking about violence, even at their young stage.”

Young said that the idea of the chamber working with the police to reduce crime is aimed at making St Mary a safer and more productive parish, as well as a place where people will want to grow, to live, and to do business.

In the meantime, the chamber boss described 2019 as a mostly flat year in terms of business in St Mary.

He said among the few positives was the establishment of the parish’s first business process outsourcing (BPO) company, NK Customer Solutions Limited, which began operating in Annotto Bay in October.

At the other end, the slow pace of work along the Junction road is of concern to both motorists and business operators along that corridor.

“At times, vehicles have to be diverted through other routes and a number of the business persons have been complaining because of that,” Young said.

rural@gleanerjm.com