JCF shakes up western hierarchy

WESTERN BUREAU:

The St James police division, which continues to be the epicentre of the nation’s bloodletting based on the latest police data, is to see a major shake-up in senior personnel, effective June 12.

The parish, which has recorded more than 60 murders since the start of the year, including two over the weekend, leads all other divisions by double digits.

While transfers remain the prerogative of the Police High Command, which is not required to provide reasons for movements, speculation is rife that the shifting of the senior officers could be stemming from a fallout from the recent incident at the Montego Bay Police Station in Freeport, where one imate reportedly disarmed a police officer and used the gun to shoot another.

“It was quite embarrassing, especially since the media was all over the story for hours before there was an official response from the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force),” a police source told The Gleaner. “However, as you should know, it (policing) is a transferable job, and the transfers did not only impact personnel from St James.”

Among the officers to be transferred are Deputy Superintendent of Police Angella McIntosh Gayle, who has been heading up the parish’s safety and security unit for the past seven years; Deputy Superintendent of Police Pheona Watson, head of administration with responsibility for welfare of the officers; and Deputy Superintendent Mario Pratt, whose operational skills and tactical command have been praised for the arrest of several top gangsters and the recovery of numerous illegal firearms.

“I am personally going to miss Ms Watson. In stressful times, she is like a mother to the officers,” said the cop, who spoke to The Gleaner on condition of anonymity, adding that Watson had been doing a great job.

Westmoreland and Hanover, which are also prominent on the nation’s crime radar, will also see changes. The two major changes are that of Superintendent Ian Mowatt, who replaced Superintendent Sharon Beeput as the commander for Hanover seven months ago and is now making way for Deputy Superintendent Andrew Nish. Superintendent Mercedes Currie is also making a step down from the Area One headquarters to the St James division.

A senior officer, who was posted in St James when the parish recorded a record 342 murders in 2017, admitted being somewhat wary about the transfers of so many senior officers at the same time, arguing that they brought back the parish from the brink when out-of-control murders and the explosion in criminal gangs created a headache for the JCF.

“Ellis (Senior Superintendent Vernon Ellis) was recently transferred and now these officers are going … . I am honestly worried about losing so many experienced officers with a knowledge of the ground at the same time,” the officer told The Gleaner yesterday.

BLOODY FEW DAYS

Some six murders in western Jamaica between last Thursday and Sunday and other shooting incidents across the region within the last week have also sparked increased concern. St James registered two of the murders, while there were three in Westmoreland and one in Hanover - all by the gun.

On Sunday, in St James, Neville ‘Bigga Don’ Holness, of Maroon Town, was killed by unknown assailants as he sat on his verandah at about 7:30 a.m. Just over 10 hours later, at approximately 6:20 p.m, 24-year-old Kenardo Fowler, of Plantation Drive, was killed in a drive-by shooting.

Last Thursday, Westmoreland recorded three murders as 38-year-old Randall Grey, of Truro district, was shot dead in a canefield; a man known only as ‘Cootie’ was killed in Frome; and 37-year-old Ricardo Warren, who was murdered while driving through Whithorn.

In Hanover, 53-year-old Brian Grizzle, of Hell Gate in Mount Pelier, was shot dead.

editorial@gleanerjm.com