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Westmoreland police forge alliance with key stakeholders

Published:Thursday | September 8, 2022 | 12:06 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
From left: Commanding Officer in Charge of Westmoreland, Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs; President of Negril Chamber of Commerce, Richard Wallace; and Deputy Superintendent of Police in Charge of Negril, Delroy Stewart, operating as one team at the me
Hopeton Bucknor
From left: Commanding Officer in Charge of Westmoreland, Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs; President of Negril Chamber of Commerce, Richard Wallace; and Deputy Superintendent of Police in Charge of Negril, Delroy Stewart, operating as one team at the meeting between the police and stakeholders in Negril.

WESTERN BUREAU:

With the Westmoreland police division now having the dubious distinction of recording 100 murders since the start of the year, the parish’s police commander says an alliance has been forged with tourism and private sector stakeholders in a bold bid to restore order.

Speaking at a recent meeting with representatives of the Jamaica Tourist Board, the Negril Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Product Development Company (TDPCo) last weekend in Negril, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Wayne Josephs, the commanding officer in charge of Westmoreland, told reporters that the police are quite happy to be partnering with such important stakeholders on such an important venture.

“We thanked the stakeholders for coming on board, and we want you to know that the police are committed to making the Negril space a much safer one, and with additional resources, I am quite sure that the police could add much more value to what we have been doing,” said SSP Josephs.

He added that the police was not only committed to restoring order in Negril, but to the entire parish of Westmoreland and is appealing to residents of the parish to come on board and be a part of the effort.

The police commander went on to explain that new strategies are being developed as the police seeks to improve its capacity to blunt lawlessness and apprehend and prosecute violence-producers.

“The Westmoreland police will be collaborating with other parishes for cross-border policing, for we know that most of our crimes are committed by the gun, and we know that the guns are being transported by motorbikes, and motor cars and so on, and so we are doing a lot more stop and search to see if we can interdict the movement of guns, and also wanted persons across the parish,” SSP Josephs said.

Richard Wallace, president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce, said his organisation is only too happy to be partnering with the police as they too have a vested interest in making Westmoreland a safe parish.

Since the start of the year, Westmoreland has recorded exactly 100 murders. The most recent killing took place in Strathbogie district on Friday at about 1:30 a.m. The victim was identified as 27-year-old Dillion ‘George’ Blake, who was gunned down by unknown assailants in the community.

Westmoreland now has the second highest number of murders in the police Area One, which comprises Westmoreland, Hanover, St James and Trelawny. St James has recorded 143 murders to date.