Manchester Chamber wants muzzle on crime
Published:Monday | October 21, 2024 | 12:08 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Although admitting that the surge in crime in Manchester in recent months has made many residents fearful, president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Omar Fennell, is adamant that the scourge of violence will not take control of the once peaceful parish.
“It definitely can’t continue like that,” a resolute Fennell told The Gleaner. “We weren’t getting this kind of crime before and then it is there now, so of course there is a lot of fear.”
Forty-two murders have been recorded in the parish since the start of the year, compared with 34 last year.
This included a shooting incident two weeks ago in the Mandeville market that sent vendors and shoppers scurrying for cover.
At the end of the assault carried out by gun toting men on bikes, two were found dead and four other injured, according to reports.
The police have since intensified their operational activities, which includes imposing curfews in several communities.
Head of the Manchester police, Deputy Superintendent Carey Duncan told journalists last week that the curfews will “continue as long as possible”.
However, while applauding the enhanced efforts of the police to curb crime in the parish, Fennell laments the impact the increase in crime and violence has been having on Manchester businesses.
“There wasn’t a curfew in the town, but persons were closing as a result of … they’re sending home their (staff), some of the persons who are in the volatile areas, and they are just not going to remain open with just the rest of staff and everybody around them is closing,” he said.
“I do know that some persons, especially in Christiana, had mentioned that the murders that are happening there are definitely in the town and close to the businesses. And without there being a curfew, they were just closing down because they don’t want to be operating when persons are being killed right there in front of them,” he added.
Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang, on a tour of the parish last week, said lottery scamming is to be blamed for the increase in crime in Manchester. He, however, assured that the police are now more equipped to combat it.
“They have had the experience from elsewhere, and they are trained and organised to deal with it. Lotto scamming can generate a lot of violence. But, as I said, we are better prepared, better organised, and we are doing the required not only investigation, but monitoring,” he told the media.
However, Fennell, a resident of the parish for about 25 years, believes the increase in crime is also because of the mass migration of criminals into the parish from other parishes that were subjected to states of emergency.
“When they lock down the surrounding areas, persons try to seek some sort of haven. If there is a lock down in Clarendon, Trelawny, St Elizabeth, which are also areas which would have seen increase in crime, then you’ll find that persons would be coming into Mandeville,” he said.
“There is a lot of crime that is being committed that’s not being committed by residents of Manchester, and some of the victims themselves are not residents of Manchester,” he added.
However, he said business people and residents alike are all invested in seeing Manchester becoming that “nice quiet place again”, and are committed to cooperating with the authorities.
For instance, he said some businesses were reluctant at first to connect to the JamaicaEye system, but have now reconsidered.
The JamaicaEye is the national closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system that allows registered private citizens to share footage from their cameras with the local authorities free of cost. Its primary aim is to use digital imagery to detect and deter criminal activity. The programme is also intended to be used in the arresting and arraignment of offenders.
“There might have been some hesitation in the past, but with this uptick that’s happening now, as you can imagine, persons want to get rid of it. There are many persons now that are offering to jump on this system to play their part in curbing the crime,” he said.
Fennell further stressed the importance of reducing incidents of violent crime before the Christmas holiday season.
“Persons want to be out in numbers, persons want to be out late. If that is affected, it’s like the livelihood of every single person in Manchester would have been affected, so we must find a way to get it down,” he said.