Westmoreland to get quick-response police bikers

WESTERN BUREAU:

Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson says additional resources will be deployed to the Westmoreland Police Division to help blunt rampant crime.

Westmoreland is the parish with second highest murders in western Jamaica, at 100, behind St James, which has recorded 145.

“There are teams that we have been developing and Westmoreland will be on that priority list to get them a motorcycle-based quick-response team,” said Anderson, who visited the parish late last week.

The Reverend Hartley Perrin, custos of Westmoreland, who was at the meeting which took place at the United Church Hall in Savanna-la-Mar, has urged that police interventions be effective in stemming the influence of crime in the parish.

Anderson said that quick-response motorcycle units have helped to reduce robberies by as much as 60 per cent in town centres where they are operational.

“This is a strategy that we will continue to roll out, particularly in Westmoreland, which should address some of the concerns,” he said.

In 2019, under the leadership of Senior Superintendent of Police Vernon Ellis, a 23-member elite quick-response squad was rolled out in the St James Police Division, following intense motorised and technical training.

The Montego Bay initiative has since been replicated in other major town centres.