More

Colonel General Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force, Rocky Meade, has expressed gratitude to the residents of Tivoli Gardens for their cooperation during the ongoing joint police/military operation in the community. "For the most part, we have cooperation and such cooperation allows us to get our jobs done more quickly and facilitates us returning the community to normality as quickly...

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has announced that it has processed and released approximately 980 persons, who were detained during the joint police/military operation in West Kingston. At a special briefing this morning (May 29) with JIS News at the Police Commissioner's headquarters on Old Hope Road, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Charles Scarlett, said operations at the National Arena...

The search for illegal weapons in West Kingston continues to yield results with 28 guns and 8,885 rounds of assorted ammunition recovered so far by the security forces. A release from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) today (May 29) said that the guns include 14 rifles and 14 hand guns. The ammunition comprises .357; 9mm; .45; 7.62 long, which are...

Of the 700 people, who were detained during the joint police/military operation in West Kingston, 694 have been released with only six men still in custody. The detainees had been housed at the National Arena in Kingston since Monday, May 24, when the operation started. The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has advised that four of the six, who remain, have...

Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington, has voiced the determination of the police to serve the arrest warrant on Christopher Coke, who is wanted on drug and gun charges in the United States. "We will catch him, we will execute that warrant and he will face justice," he told a press conference at Up-Park Camp Friday (May 28). Mr. Ellington said...

Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington has expressed pride in the conduct of members of the security forces who participated in the operation in West Kingston, which began on Monday (May 28). Speaking at a news conference Friday (May 28) at Up Park Camp, Commissioner Ellington said he was proud of their conduct, discipline, courage and resilience. "We have had reports...

Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington, has refuted claims that the bodies of civilians have been burned and buried to destroy evidence, during the joint military/police operation in sections of West Kingston. "There have been reports that the security forces have been engaged in burning and burying bodies in a secretive way. Both allegations are false," Commissioner Ellington said today (May...

The media was today (May 28) presented with graphic evidence of the preparations criminals in Tivoli Gardens had made to wage an all-out assault on the security forces should they enter Tivoli Gardens. At a press briefing at Up-Park Camp in St. Andrew, the security forces showed videos, as well as photos of improvised explosive devices, guns, strategic barricades and...

The United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) says it is deeply concerned about the welfare and protection of children and their families in West Kingston, and other areas affected by violence. In a statement on Friday (May 28) UNICEF said: "Children must be shielded from any violence by all means possible, and efforts to restore a sense of normalcy for children...

Public Defender, Earl Witter, is advising persons in and around the West Kingston community, who witnessed or experienced excesses on the part of the security forces during the recent civil unrest in West Kingston, to visit or call the recently established post at the Tivoli Gardens community centre to air their complaints. "We have established offices temporarily in Tivoli Gardens...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has assured that security is in place to ensure the safety of the staff at both the Kingston Public and Victoria Jubilee Hospitals. "We prevented the staff from driving cars. We have been driving ambulances and the police have been escorting them in, and even when there was no security, the people came and...

Minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects, Hon. Daryl Vaz, has assured residents and visitors that business and tourist activities in the resort areas of Jamaica have not been affected by the unrest in sections of Western Kingston. "This is a situation that is taking place in certain parts...