Gareth Davis, Gleaner writer
PORTLAND:
One reason why the parish of Portland is earmarked for major development in tourism and other investments, is because it is one of the safest places in the island.
While other parishes, including St. James, St. Catherine and the country's capital, Kingston, suffer from an alarming crime rate, Portland has has maintained its integrity as a relatively safe and secure place that is free from extortion.
"We have friendly people spread across this parish and it is arguably the healthiest environment of all the parishes," former Mayor of Port Antonio, Hezekiah Mollay said. "Yes, we have had our domestic problems, but we have never reached a situation where the panic button had to be pressed."
He said that based on the statistics over the past three years, Portland is the safest parish for investors.
Grace Reid, a pharmacist at the City Plaza Pharmacy, grew up in Kingston where she completed most of her schooling. But she also told the Financial Gleaner that she was fearful and extremely cautious while in Kingston and other parishes, while Portland was the ideal location for her.
Despite the ongoing illicit trans-shipment of narcotics from Colombia to Jamaica, with a significant portion of the trade flowing through at either Boston or Manchioneal in Portland, crime in the parish is kept under control by a vigilant police force, Inspector of Police at the Port Antonio station, Wilfred Penn, told the Financial Gleaner, yesterday.
Regular roadblocks mounted at both ends of the parish, near St. Thomas in the east and Windsor Castle in the west, have deterred some of the most ambitious criminals, he said.
"Frequent raids and spot checks are carried out by the police," said Inspector Penn.
The inspector pointed out that with each cruise ship arrival in Port Antonio, the police are put on high alert and are despatched to strategic areas.
Last year, the parish had nine domestic murders, according to Inspector Penn. He said all but one were cleared up.
"I can publicly say that Portland is safe and secure," the inspector said. "The police is forever willing to work alongside residents, the business community and investors to make the parish even more safe," he added.
Inspector Penn also noted that the neighbourhood watch in various communities has also helped to minimise the level of crime.
The safety factor
Jamaica was the world's sixth deadliest country in 2002, according to Interpol data.
Despite making the top-ten list of most murderous countries in the world, there are wide variations in the murder patterns across the island.
The main urban centres have very high rates, but some more rural parishes have relatively low rates. Kingston and St. Andrew stand at one end of the spectrum with 98.5 murders per 100,000 people. At the other end, Portland has 12.5 murders per 100,00.
