Chang eyeing CCTV for Norwood
Published:Wednesday | June 30, 2021 | 12:09 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
In an efforts to rein in the lawlessness that has been stifling the community of Norwood in St James, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, who is also the member of parliament for that area, says active consideration is being given to installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the community as part of the effort to improve security.
“CCTV will be useful in critical points in this community and as we build it out, we will have to examine how fast we can get it here,” explained Chang, while touring the Norwood zone of special operation (ZOSO) last week. “In fact, one of the communities in here has put in its own private CCTV which is very useful.”
According to Chang, while the quality of that CCTV surveillance in the system he has referenced might not be good enough to go to court, it is good enough for the St James police to identify persons involved in criminal activities. On June 20, the Government, as part of its latest drive to displace and apprehend criminals and reclaim their stronghold, declared Norwood a ZOSO, the second such in the parish behind Mt Salem, which got the nation’s first ZOSO in 2017.
The Government deemed the Norwood ZOSO as necessary because it was felt that normal policing wasn’t getting the job done, so enhance security had become necessary.
According to police statistics, gangs operating in Norwood are responsible for 15 of the over 80 murders committed in the parish since the start of the year.
The national security minister also points out that several of the violence producers fled the community prior to the start of a 48-hour curfew, which preceded the implementation of the ZOSO.“CCTV, in terms of helping with surveillance, is a crucial part of the improvement and expansion of the police force capacity going forward,” said Chang, in speaking to the challenges posed by densely-populated communities like Norwood.
Interestingly, in Westmoreland, which has emerged as a major criminal hotspot, stakeholders have also been calling for CCTV surveillance in the commercial districts of Savanna-la-Mar and Grange Hill, which are seeing a spike in gang-related murders and shootings.
Superintendent Robert Gordon, the police commander for Westmoreland, recently told The Gleaner that CCTV, through the JamaicaEye system, is a critical tool that he would welcome in the parish to enhance the capabilities of the police in fighting crime.
Despite numerous new policing initiative across western Jamaica, several communities in Hanover, St James and Westmoreland remain areas of significance to the security forces because of the high levels of crime and violence, especially murders.