JCF Bolstering Resources in Hanover

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JFC) will be boosting manpower and other resources to fight crime in Hanover.

Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders from the parish at Round Hill Hotel and Villas on Tuesday (June 6), Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, said that the Hopewell Police Station, which should be ready for occupation within months, will form the centrepiece of the resources being shored up in the parish.

Work on the renovation of the building to house the police station is 70 per cent completed.

The Police Commissioner said, further, that the number of law-enforcement personnel serving the parish will be increased over time.

“The other thing we will be doing in Hanover is increasing their mobility, specifically around their [motorcycle-based] Quick Response capacity, which at the moment is very minimal,” he noted.

The Police Commissioner said that based on the results in other divisions the Quick Response team “has been effective in reducing crime, and our ability to respond to incidents that are unfolding has been increased significantly through that”.

Major General Anderson said that the JCF is committed to reversing the trend that resulted in the increase in murders and gun crimes during 2022/2023.

He explained that “the spike that we saw the other day was about lotto scamming … [and] we are committed to driving those numbers down. In Hanover, we see the numbers up from where they were last year but it is being cauterised, and we intend to keep it that way”.

The building that is being renovated to house the Hopewell Police Station was the former location of the Hanover Electoral Office and was leased from the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) for $1,000 per year.

It will accommodate a Community Safety and Security Branch office, Traffic Department, Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB), a private interview room as well as living quarters for officers stationed there.