Success of CWC Security Plan will Hinge on Co-operation of Citizens

The success of the security plan for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 will hinge on the co-operation of all Jamaicans, said Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Owen Ellington, who is chair of the Security Committee for the Jamaica Local Organizing Committee (LOC).
“A lot depends on public support in the country and good behaviour and attitude towards ensuring an excellent visitors’ experience. All of these elements are crucial,” he told JIS News in an interview.
“These are things we consider to work on. Even when we have spent so much time planning, training and testing, we still have to rely substantially on public support to make it a success,” he added.
Explaining how Jamaicans could play a role, ACP Ellington said persons needed to be “natural, loving, kind and decent”, not only looking out for each other, but also taking care of visitors to the island.
“Everyone coming here for the tournament is coming for a great Jamaican experience and I think we can deliver it. All we have to do is be ourselves,” he implored.
Aside from a positive attitude, ACP Ellington recommended that the public should be on alert at all times, even when there were no matches, pointing out that high levels of awareness and anticipation by the public were necessary in maintaining the security of the nation. “These [attributes] help citizens to do the things they need to do in order to care for themselves and at the same time, assist the security sector in protecting their rights,” he pointed out.
In the meantime, ACP Ellington said that a tournament of the stature of the ICC CWC 2007 could present new vulnerabilities of which citizens needed to be made aware, but noted that for now, there were no such threats.
“If we get to the stage where the intelligence community advises us there are conditions emerging or existing that require a heightened level of alert on the part of our citizens, we will communicate to our citizens and ask for the kind of cooperation that is necessary,” he noted.
Under the Yellow Package, Jamaica will host four warm up matches, which got underway at the newly constructed Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium on March 5. The opening ceremony for the tournament is scheduled for March 11 at the same venue.
Jamaica will also host six first-round matches, including the opening match of the tournament at Sabina Park on March 13, which will put the West Indies against Pakistan. In addition, Jamaica will host a semi-final match on April 24.