Progress made in tackling praedial larceny

Progress has been made in tackling praedial larceny, with notable increases in arrests and seizures.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green, said that up to November this year, 86 persons had been arrested for praedial larceny, surpassing the 78 arrests recorded for all of 2023.

“December [figures] haven’t come in as yet, and we are seeing an uptick in the figures,” Green said.

The minister was addressing a press conference, held at the ministry’s headquarters in Hope Gardens, St Andrew, on Wednesday.

Green further informed that in 2023, there were 138 cases placed before the courts, while up to November 2024, there were 150 cases before the courts.

“[Regarding] summons, for the entire 2023 there were nine summonses, and for this year we have already gone 16 summonses, again a significant increase,” he pointed out.

Similarly, vehicle seizures have more than doubled, climbing from eight last year to 19 so far this year.

In addition, efforts to empower and protect farmers have also intensified, with the establishment of 162 Farmers’ Watch groups before December, compared to 107 formed in 2023.

Meanwhile, Head of the Praedial Larceny Prevention Coordination Unit, Superintendent Oral Pascoe, said the police have ramped up their road efforts in terms of the Yuletide season.

“We would have ramped up our efforts on the road in all the divisions…whether you are in Kingston or in the country or whether you are in a producing division, such as St Elizabeth and St Mary. We actually ramped up stop and search and that would have probably suppressed some of the reports that we would have gotten and, of course, this is an ongoing thing,” Superintendent Pascoe said.