Business Operators In St. James Support SOE

Business operators in St. James, including tourism interests, have signalled their support for the State of Public Emergency (SOE), which has been reintroduced in western parishes.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Sunday (November 14), announced the imposition of SOEs in seven police divisions islandwide to curtail upsurges in violent crimes.

They are St. Andrew South, Kingston West, Kingston Central, and Kingston East in the Corporate Area, and St. James, Hanover, and Westmoreland.

Mr. Holness indicated that all the divisions have recorded increases in violent crimes, ranging from 16 to 57 per cent.

In welcoming the move, operator of Smokeez by the Seas in Rose Hall, Lowell Spence, said that “crime is definitely out of control in sections of [St. James] and must be curtailed”.

Mr. Spence told JIS News that while crime might not be at his doorsteps, the entire parish is impacted by the “perception and the images from the affected areas”.

“I do agree that something has to be done to quell what has been happening in sections of the parish and if it has to be reintroducing the SOE… then so be it,” he said.

Craft Trader, Simone Brown, agreed, and urged law-abiding citizens in the parish to support the security measure.

She said that “only wrong doers and those who are hell bent on creating mayhem would fear the SOE”.

“If you are a law-abiding citizen, then there is nothing to fear,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, Garfield Diving’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Garfield Dussard, which has a franchise in Montego Bay, told JIS News that “I along with many of my business partners support the Government wholeheartedly with this call”.

“We cannot sit back and watch the criminals do as they please. We have made a lot of sacrifices to get where we are and yes… something had to be done,” he said.

Retired utility executive, Terrence Wilmot, for his part, told JIS News that he has no problem with the SOE being reintroduced, as long as it is done in a climate of “transparency and accountability”.

“Once we have proper checks and balances, I see it as a welcome move and something I have no problem supporting,” he said.
The SOEs aim to restore normality in the targeted communities and protect the lives of law-abiding citizens.

Police Commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson, indicated that “in the parishes of St. James, Westmoreland and Hanover, there have been 272 victims of murder, which represents 22 per cent of the national figure, while 214 were shot and injured, also representing 22 per cent of the national figure”.

An SOE was first implemented in St James in January 2018, with the parishes of Hanover and Westmoreland added in April 2019. The Houses of Parliament voted to end the SOEs on August 17, 2020.