CCTV For Harmony Beach Park

Western Regional Manager at the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Omar Simpson, says Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, St James will become the first public park to be outfitted with closed- circuit television (CCTV) that will be part of the country’s national surveillance programme, ‘JamaicaEye’.

“From a security perspective, we intend to ensure that this becomes the first park that has integrated, closed [circuit] cameras throughout the park and that will be integrated through the Government of Jamaica JamaicaEye programme so that it can be monitored everywhere from the police station and from our own on- site security stations,” he noted

He was speaking with journalists at the annual St. James Municipal Corporation Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony held at the park on Monday (December 13).

JamaicaEye is part of an overall thrust by the Ministry of National Security to transform the security architecture through investment in improving the technology, intelligence, infrastructure, and mobility of the JCF over the next few years.

Mr. Simpson also informed that the UDC is working to have the multimillion-dollar park outfitted with free Wi-Fi no later than July 2022, which will support the CCTV system.

“We are actually in the procurement stage of securing that. It is our intent to have Wi-Fi throughout the space, by mid-2022. We might deliver that a little earlier than that but certainly the intent is not further than July 2022,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Simpson is praising visitors to the park for their high level of care for the facility and orderly conduct since its official opening to the public in May this year.

“I am very pleased and I am very grateful to the public. They have accorded themselves very admirably. As you can see, we don’t have much of a litter problem, we don’t have much of a behaviour problem,” Simpson said.

“Yes, we have a significant amount of security deployed, but the behaviour generally of the citizens of Montego Bay and Jamaica who use the park is commendable,” he continued.

Meanwhile, Mr. Simpson pointed out that coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions continue to affect some “multiple layers of services” and facilities on offer to members of the public at the park. These include the use of two playgrounds – one for toddlers and the other for older children.

“We have a multi-purpose court that as soon as we are allowed to, we will be offering to the general public for use,” he said.

Mr. Simpson further said the park will be made available for use by stakeholders for the staging of entertainment and recreational activities, once government gives the green light for reopening of the sector.

“We have several stakeholders who want to host events but are a little bit restricted… but certainly once the numbers continue to trend in this direction, I am certain that the powers that be will relax those protocols and we will be able to have much more than we have here now and on a more regular basis to entertain and provide general entertainment for the citizens of Montego Bay,” he said.