ZOSOs Extended In Denham Town And Mount Salem

The Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) in Denham Town, Kingston; and Mount Salem, St. James, will be extended by a further 60 days to April 20, 2020 and May 9, 2020, respectively.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (February 4) approved two Resolutions for the extensions, which were moved by National Security Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang.

A Zone of Special Operations was declared in both Mount Salem and Denham Town with effect from September and October 2017.

In his remarks, Dr. Chang noted that as the Zones continue into their15th and 14th extensions (respectively), the work of the Social Intervention Committee continues, as both Zones are into the build phase of the clear-hold-build strategy.

He stated that the Zones of Special Operations have unsurprisingly, so far, yielded unquestionable results and the impact cannot be overstated.

“There has been no report of murders and shootings in the Mount Salem community and a significant reduction in murders and shootings for the community of Denham Town for the period during the Zones of Special Operations, as at January 22, 2020 when compared to the preceding period (July 12 to October 16, 2017), by 51 per cent and 74 per cent [when the murder and shooting decreased from 37 to 18 and 74 to 19, respectively],” Dr. Chang said.

“Similarly, for the same period, significant reductions were recorded in serious crimes for both the Denham Town and Mount Salem communities, by 53 per cent (142-66) and 90 per cent (49-5), respectively,” he added.

The Minister further pointed out that there is an overall improvement in public safety and security, strengthened mechanisms for service delivery by State institutions and community actors within the spaces are ongoing, and improvements in access to basic infrastructure and social services continue to be key efforts undertaken by the Social Intervention Committee.

Dr. Chang added that additional details on the activities of the Social Intervention Committee are outlined in the Ministry Papers tabled in the Lower House.