Different Approach to Policing in St. James

Senior Superintendent of Police in charge of the St. James Division, Steve McGregor, says members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) are taking a unique approach to fighting crime and violence in the parish.

Addressing a Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry meeting in the city on May 27, SSP McGregor said his officers have been trying to identify the intention of those who commit crimes in the parish and to explore if information garnered from that focus can be used in the prevention of other criminal acts.

Mr. McGregor, who took command of St. James recently,  said  that,  “as leader of the team, I have been looking at it. We have been trying some strategies in other parishes and divisions and we are thinking now that we need to be looking at the intent side of crime.”

“When a man is killed in Cambridge, the people in Montego Bay don’t  care,  they don’t even know. The majority of the business sector, those who live on the plains are not overly concerned because it is not close to them. But guess what, it is your product that is being damaged…because when the person abroad sees a murder in Cambridge…Montego Bay is going to suffer. So, I want the Chamber to play a more active role in helping us to manage the crime situation in St. James,” he said.

According to SSP McGregor, he has had 33 community meetings since he took over the command of the JCF in St. James, with a view of enabling residents to connect with the Police and to get them to be a part of crime fighting strategies which are being developed.

“I want my team to make a connection with the citizens of the different communities, so that they can be a part of whatever strategies we devise to police them. We cannot craft those strategies and force it upon them, they have to be a part of it,” he emphasised.

SSP McGregor noted that the Police also use these community meetings to announce ‘persons of influence’ who are encouraged to come and see him, in order to keep these persons on the right side of the law.

Addressing a Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry meeting in the city on May 27, SSP McGregor said his officers have been trying to identify the intention of those who commit crimes in the parish and to explore if information garnered from that focus can be used in the prevention of other criminal acts.

Mr. McGregor, who took command of St. James recently, said that, “as leader of the team, I have been looking at it. We have been trying some strategies in other parishes and divisions and we are thinking now that we need to be looking at the intent side of crime.”

He pointed out that so far this year, 76 murders have been committed in St. James, and appealed to members of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry to play a more active role in helping the Police to manage crime and violence in the parish.

“When a man is killed in Cambridge, the people in Montego Bay don’t care, they don’t even know. The majority of the business sector, those who live on the plains are not overly concerned because it is not close to them. But guess what, it is your product that is being damaged…because when the person abroad sees a murder in Cambridge…Montego Bay is going to suffer. So, I want the Chamber to play a more active role in helping us to manage the crime situation in St. James,” he said.

According to SSP McGregor, he has had 33 community meetings since he took over the command of the JCF in St. James, with a view of enabling residents to connect with the Police and to get them to be a part of crime fighting strategies which are being developed.

“I want my team to make a connection with the citizens of the different communities, so that they can be a part of whatever strategies we devise to police them. We cannot craft those strategies and force it upon them, they have to be a part of it,” he emphasised.

SSP McGregor noted that the Police also use these community meetings to announce ‘persons of influence’ who are encouraged to come and see him, in order to keep these persons on the right side of the law.