Trelawny Police Concerned about Carnal Abuse

Inspector of Police for Trelwany, Lorna Henderson, is calling for a change of attitude by residents in the parish towards sex crimes, especially carnal abuse.

Inspector Henderson, who has been in the parish for six months now, said she is concerned about the number of sexual offences being committed, especially against children under 16 years old, and the attitude of persons towards these offences.

"Generally, just talking to persons across the parish, I get the feeling that people feel that just having a little sex, you cannot send somebody to prison for that. That’s the feeling I get…and I am very concerned,” she stated.

Inspector Henderson was delivering the crime report for the parish for the period January 1 to July 7, on Wednesday July 11 monthly meeting of the Trelawny Parish Council in Falmouth.

There were 33 reports of carnal abuse for the period with 52 per cent of these cases cleared-up. There were also 12 rapes with 58 per cent cleared-up.

"Sexual offences continue to be of great concern to us, especially as it relates to men having sex with children under 16 years old,” the Inspector told the meeting.

As head of the Community Safety and Security programme, Inspector Henderson said she has been interacting with a number of children, parents and other adults through the various community programmes implemented by the police.

She stated that every effort is being made to educate adolescents on how they can keep themselves safe from predators, and also to sensitise parents on the signs to look out for and how they can help the police to tackle the issue.

Other crime statistics for the period, show that five murders were committed in the parish with 20 per cent cleared-up; 15 shootings with 13 per cent cleared-up; 24 robberies with  eight per cent cleared-up; while there were 55 break-ins and 11 cases of larceny, with clear-up rates of  27 per cent.

Inspector Henderson also pointed to the need to address traffic congestion in the parish, especially in the town of Falmouth.