Cells at Lucea Police Station to be Repaired

Repair and maintenance work on the cells at the police divisional headquarters in Lucea, Hanover should begin within the next two weeks. Special attention will also be given to the mobility of the police in the parish, particularly to patrol the North Coast Highway.

Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, made the announcements on February 27, following a tour of the five police stations and a police post in the parish.

He pointed out that the tour has brought to his attention the fact that repairs and maintenance work are needed at some of the stations within the parish, but that these are minor repairs, with the exception of the main lockup at the divisional headquarters in Lucea.

“There is need for some significant work to be done to the cellblock here at the divisional headquarters, and we hope that in the course of the next week, certainly within the next two weeks, that work will start. Of course, as elsewhere, there is the need to deal with the mobility of the police,” the Minister said.

“Bikes, particularly here on the North Coast Highway, where there is need to enhance the traffic policing capability of the division, we are going to have to address that, and there is need for a number of vehicles. We are in the process of ordering some vehicles, which won’t deal with all the needs of the force, but we will try to make certain that Hanover is included in this,” he added.

He expressed gratitude for the assistance given by civic groups in the parish of Hanover, in the area of mobility of the police and some of their other needs.

Dr. Phillips explained that the Ministry, as part of a national initiative, intended to focus on how the citizens can work with the police in the parishes to fight crime. He emphasised that this would be a necessary step towards working on a crime prevention plan, community by community, parish by parish, so that the general population could be made aware of the causes of criminal behaviour, and how to address it as a community.

“In the end, we have to recognise that this struggle is not a struggle for the police, as much as it is a struggle for the entire country to address,” the Minister said.

Dr. Phillips noted that Hanover was the third parish that he had visited to get first hand knowledge of police operations within them, and to hear of their immediate needs. The Minister said he intended to visit the other parishes during the course of this year.