Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

With a worrying 44 murders since the start of the year and a badly traumatised citizenry to answer to, the St James police are now facing a daunting task in the face of what is being dubbed unprecedented lawlessness.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Denver Frater believes the situation can be arrested through greater co-operation between the affected stakeholders and the police.

Frater, the commanding officer for Area One, which comprises the parishes of St James, Hanover, Trelawny and Westmoreland, is urging residents of St James to join the police in their attempt to put a lid on crime.

Safe communities

"We believe we have the capacity to provide residents with safe communities, but we need their help. There are people out there with valuable information about criminal activities. They can assist us but they need to share information with us," said Frater.

While the Police High Command believes it has the capacity to break the back of illicit activities - such as the 'lotto scam', the drugs-for-guns trade and the turf war between rival gangs - Frater wants to see an end to the culture of silence, where people are reluctant to speak to the police.

But based on the feedback from residents of some communities, that will not happen.

One elderly grandmother in the Norwood area, which recently experienced a gruesome double murder, told The Sunday Gleaner that although she was fearful, she would have to think twice about confiding in the police.

"Far too many of our policemen are friendly with known criminals," she declared. "How do you know who should be trusted with information?" she added.

However, Superintendent Maurice Robinson, the commanding officer for St James, said that the police had instituted measures to address the concerns of persons who felt that their safety could be compromised if they were to tell the police what they knew.

"There are secure lines on which people can report criminal activities without any chance of being exposed," Robinson said as he joined the call for residents to share information with investigators.

These include the 311, 811 and 1-800-Corrupt (2677-878) where allegations against members of the police force can be made.

In the meantime, the police are calling for increased social interventions to address the many problems facing some residents of St James.

A special challenge

According to Robinson, the dynamics of the parish's 23 inner-city communities, which are hotbeds of criminality, if not breeding grounds for criminals, pose a special challenge for the police.

"Stakeholders in St James need to do more to alleviate some of the social conditions that exist in these communities. They need to understand that a relatively stable community is insurance for good business and need to do more to improve the quality of life in these areas," Robinson said.

That is a position shared by Frater, who said there needs to be a regularisation of informal communities to include better roads, individual addresses for each home and more emphasis on social-intervention programmes for inner-city residents.

According to Frater, the burden on the police would be lighter if some basic social and structural needs of some of the problem-plagued communities were addressed by the authorities.

That call from the police is being answered in Norwood through an intervention programme initiated by the Minister of National Security, with the support of the community's political representative.

In that community, a programme is now under way to replace old, dilapidated zinc fences with concrete walls.

Dual purpose

"This exercise has a dual purpose," said Norwood's councillor Mexine Bisasor, who declared that she was on a mission to transform the image of the area. "This exercise is giving the community a much-needed facelift and at the same time, it is helping to create employment for those involved in this project."

With the necessary social intervention, the police believe they would have the tools to reverse the trend which resulted in 216 murders in St James last year.

"We have identified some communities that require special attention and while we are not revealing any specific policing strategies, I can guarantee that you are going to see a lot of high-visibility policing in these areas," said Frater.