St. Elizabeth Police Urge Conflict Resolution To Stem Aggravated Assault Cases

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in charge of St. Elizabeth, Narda Simms, is appealing for residents to take advantage of conflict resolution services in order to stem incidents of aggravated assault in the parish.

DSP Simms told JIS News that while “we are enjoying a reduction in almost all major crimes, aggravated assault continues to be an issue”.

She said that persons are resorting to harming each other over disagreements and misunderstandings instead of taking the route of peaceful conflict resolution.

“I am appealing to people to try and talk about things. Report to the police, get mediation, get somebody to talk to because what we have been finding is the kind of silly things that you draw blood for,” DSP Simms said.

“We have places like Victim Support that you can use. We have our own community safety [branch] and we also have the conflict resolution [facilitators] whom we can refer people to,” she added.

In the meantime, DSP Simms noted that the increased police presence in public spaces, in addition to enhanced public order activities, has led to a 60 per cent drop in robberies across the parish, noting that the decline is particularly evident in Santa Cruz.