Fear of crime dampened Christmas celebrations in Westmoreland - stakeholders
Published:Wednesday | December 28, 2022 | 12:22 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE WESTMORELAND business community has pointed to crime and violence as among factors that dampened the usual colourful and electrifying celebrations over the Christmas holidays.
Outside of not having enough money to spend despite the more than $227 billion dollars in circulation for December, Moses Chybar, head of the local business community, says residents spent less time in the public domain celebrating Christmas because of fear of being targets for criminal activity.
In a Gleaner interview, the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce boss said that the police are doing an excellent work in helping to stem the escalation of violence in the parish but, despite their efforts, it is still happening.
“There are some persons who would rather not come out unless it is really necessary. They run out, get what they need, and they run back in,” Chybar noted.
“That, too, has an impact because people are not feeling the level of confidence and security they would have felt in previous years.”
The parish has an ongoing zone of special operations (ZOSO), which was first declared on January 14, 2022, in sections of Savanna-la-Mar, the commercial district and parish capital. According to police data, close to 140 cases of murder have been recorded in the parish so far, with less than one week before the end of the calendar year.
Oneil Russell, a former violence interrupter with the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), agrees with the opinions of the business community that fear of crime dampened celebrations during the festive season.
Russell noted that while persons in some communities were able to attend entertainment events, there were many others who would have loved to join in the festivity but decided against doing so out of fear.
“There is still fear in Westmoreland. This fear will never ease until persons are confident that the violence is over,” he told The Gleaner. “There are persons who express this fear, who told me that they will not even go uptown (Savanna-la-Mar) because they are not playing ‘loose ball’ and that Christmas in Westmoreland for the past eight years has been ‘black and bloody’ because of the invisible boundaries of turf war and gang violence which remain an enforceable order.
“As long as there are boundaries, the problems and the fear will remain,” Russell insisted.