Police Operational Base to Be Established in Montego Hills
By: , June 8, 2023
Photo: Okoye Henry
Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson (centre), makes a point to Commending Officer for Hanover, Superintendent Sharon Beeput (left), during a stakeholder engagement at Round Hill Hotel and Villas in the parish on Tuesday, June 6. Sharing in the discussion is Head of Police Area One, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clifford Chambers.The Full Story
A new, specialised police operational base is to be established in Montego Hills, St. James, which will provide enhanced security and improved response time for residents in the community and surrounding areas.
Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, made the disclosure during a stakeholder engagement at Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Hanover on Tuesday, June 6.
He informed that the space has already been identified to construct the facility, which forms part of plans by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to pump more crime-fighting resources into western Jamaica.
Major General Anderson said that the new base, with its strategic location and advanced facilities, will serve as a central hub where officers can engage with residents and businesspersons more effectively.
“One of the benefits of that is that it increases the level of interaction between our officers and the public they serve,” he noted.
The Commissioner said that like many of the newer police stations across the island, the Montego Hills facility “will provide to the communities around it a safe space where they can come in and interface.
“So, whether it is for sports [or] access to the Internet… like we did in Olympic Gardens and other places, we are making ourselves more open and accessible to the public we serve, especially the communities surrounding our facilities,” he said.
In the meantime, the Police Commissioner pointed out that the JCF is looking to increase the number of police personnel in hotspot areas in the west and across the country.
He noted that a new batch of recruits will be graduating this Friday (June 9), which will strengthen the human capacity of the Force.
“We are not looking at slowing down our recruitment any time soon,” he vowed.
The stakeholders’ engagement with representatives of the Hanover business community included discussions on crime-prevention measures and other law-enforcement strategies aimed at reducing criminal activities in the parish.