Changing of the guard for western gunmen?

The frustrations of taking a journey where you end up taking one step forward and two backward seems to be most familiar to those among us dedicated to fighting crime. Over on the western side of the island, despite inroads made by the police in zones of special operations, it seems the crime of murder is on the rise thanks to a ‘new generation’ of gun-toting criminals.

Published August 10, 2021

New generation of criminals keeping west under the gun

Other major crimes see declines

Adrian Frater/News Editor

FILESoldiers man a checkpoint at the border of the zone of special operations in Norwood, St James, in June.

WITH 200 murders since the start of the year, western Jamaica remains a major challenge to the security forces despite the arrest of some criminal suspects and the seizure of several firearms in operations over the same period.

According to police data, between January 1 and August 5, 2021, three of the four western parishes saw a noticeable uptick in murders, compared to the corresponding period in 2019. St James has jumped from 72 homicides to 99; Westmoreland has moved up from 45 to 64, and Hanover climbed from 18 to 29. Trelawny has shown the only improvement dropping from 14 to eight.

A former commanding officer of one of the western parishes, who has asked not to be identified, told The Gleaner that the police are fighting a battle they are unlikely to win, despite security measures such as states of emergencies (SOEs) and zones of special operations (ZOSOs).

“We need to realise that we have a new generation of criminals with the financial strength to finance gangs, including fleets of motor cars and high-powered rifles capable of matching the security forces in a firefight,” said the former lawman. “Until we find a way, legislatively, to separate these criminals from their wealth and make them less influential, we will never break the back of this ongoing lawlessness.”

As it relates to the ZOSO, which was recently declared in Norwood, which the police have labelled the epicentre of the lawlessness in St James, some residents are not impressed with the illegal firearm seizures or arrest of the operatives of the six criminal gangs in the community.

“It is no secret that the main gangsters fled the community just before the state of the ZOSO as they did before the state of emergency was declared in St James [in previous years],” a resident told The Gleaner. “As they have done in the past, once things calm down, they are going to come back to the community because this is where their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and girlfriends live. And everyone knows that once these guys return, a new cycle of killings will start again.”

Over in Hanover, which recently had a noticeable uptick in murders, commanding officer Superintendent Sharon Beeput says no effort is being spared in the effort to blunt the lawlessness.

“We have been getting good support from some residents but we want others to support our effort to stop the criminals in their tracks,” she said.

WESTMORELAND GANG FEUDS

Outside of murders, the west has been seeing a notable decrease in major crimes, despite an uptick in shootings in Westmoreland, which is primarily driven by ongoing gang feuds in Savanna-la-Mar and Grange Hill.

While shootings in Westmoreland have moved up from 54 to 79; and from six to nine in Trelawny, St James has moved down from 80 to 64, and Hanover down from 20 to 19.

All four parishes have seen declines in rape with Westmoreland falling by more than 50 per cent, dropping from 39 to 16; Hanover moving down from 18 to 14; St James from 23 to 17; and Trelawny from 10 to seven.

In terms of robberies, three parishes have seen reductions. Westmoreland is down from 44 to 28, Hanover down from seven to four, and St James down from 35 to 18. Trelawny, however, has moved up from six to eight compared with the corresponding period last year.

For break-ins, three parishes saw downward trends – Westmoreland has dropped from 41 to 36, Hanover down from 18 to 11, St James down from 26 to 12 – while Trelawny’s 16 is the same as last year’s.

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com

This is a production independent of The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited's newsroom. For feedback: contact the Digital Integration and Marketing Department at Newsletters@gleanerjm.com