St Catherine North police target public order, degrading and dismantling gangs
Published:Monday | April 29, 2024 | 12:06 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
In an effort to combat crime and enhance public safety, the St Catherine North police have unveiled a comprehensive strategy.
As part of this approach the department will place special emphasis on public order and the degrading and dismantling of the gangs operating in Spanish Town.
Commander in charge of the St Catherine North Police, Hopeton Nicholson, announced that they have embarked on a sanitising campaign that engages major stakeholders, civic and community groups, during a meeting held with members of the St Catherine Chamber of Commerce last Wednesday.
“It is our intention to focus on priority areas of public order and enforcement, concentrating heavily on the two major towns of Spanish Town and Linstead, to begin with a public education campaign treating with anti-vending and public order, after which we will be going into robust enforcement,” he said.
According to him, the intention is to eliminate excuses about not being warned.
“Another priority will be the controlling of hotspots; we will be occupying these spaces to ensure that we disrupt and dismantle the gangs in these violence-prone communities.”
He added that most of the residents living in these communities are law-abiding citizens, pointing out that the push is not geared towards stereotyping them.
“The anti-gang activities will see initiatives targeting these gangs. Spanish Town has had its fair share of gang activities and its effects. Our aim is to disrupt and degrade their ability to commit crimes, and we are committed to doing this,” he assured.
Nicholson said the community engagement, which has already seen outreach to the St Catherine lay magistrates and justices of the peace, will see similar engagements with school administrators, promoters of events such as parties and round robins, bar owners, farmers’ groups in their own space to see the challenges and how best solutions can be reached.
“We will be focusing on capacity-building and welfare for our members so they can keep up with the pace of how things are evolving,” Nicholson shared.
Meanwhile, Deputy Superintend Balvey Thomas, who is in charge of the crime portfolio, outlined statistics to show that the St Catherine North Division is doing better in crime-fighting than in former years.
“St Catherine North Division that usually ranks in the top two in crimes committed now drops to five,” he said.
“Since 2024, 23 murders have been committed, as opposed to 26 this time last year; our clear up rate stands 45 per cent. Statistics are showing that communities such as Riversdale, Sligoville, Ewarton, Guy’s Hill, Brown’s Hall, Glengoffe, Above Rocks are among the safest in the country with no murders, shootings or robberies recorded last year.”
Thomas said since the start of the year there have been 10 murders in Spanish Town, five in Linstead, three in Bog Walk and three in Guys Hill.
He disclosed that 13 firearms have been recovered, including a rifle, and 205 rounds of ammunition. One of the guns recovered, based on scientific evidence, has been involved in more than 100 murders all over the country.
He revealed that over a period of three years, scientific evidence has also revealed that a particular firearm has been used in multiple murders in St Catherine North, Central Kingston and Portland, and has been discovered to be used by a member of the Clansman Gang who is now deceased.
He said the police is working assiduously to recover this firearm and bring the current user to justice.
“We have five top most wanted on our radar,” he revealed. “Number one is Peter Davis, otherwise call ‘Devil Man’, who is operating in Pen Hill, Riversdale, and West Prospect, Bog Walk; Glendon Amos, who is giving a lot of problems in the Linstead area; Dee Norman, from Berwick district, Riversdale; Gregory Ferguson and Junior Brown, all wanted for murder.”