By Adrian Frater, News EditorWESTERN BUREAU:
THE ST. JAMES special police unit, which has a mandate to restore order in troubled communities, is said to be making solid progress in its quest to infiltrate, neutralise and dismantle the parish's four major criminal gangs, whose members are said to be responsible for a high percentage of the 85 murders committed in the parish this year.
"We are quite pleased with the way things are going and the level of co-operation we have been getting from law-abiding citizens," said Detective Sergeant Paul Bernard, a senior member of the 21-man squad.
"We have seized a number of illegal firearms, arrested a number of wanted men and seized several vehicles."
Since the formation of the unit, members of the 'Entourage Crew', from the Quarry area of Salt Spring, 'Zig-Zag', from Green Pond, 'Fuller Crew', from Granville; and 'Stone Crusher', from the Glendevon area, have been under pressure from the increased police presence.
According to Sergeant Bernard,
the unit has conducted some 44 intelligence-driven raids in a three-week
period.
"Over the past week, we have arrested five men, who were wanted in connection with murders committed in St. James and Westmoreland," said Sergeant Bernard, who led last weekend's operation, which resulted in the seizure of seven cars believed to be a part of the transportation network used by the criminals.
SUSPECTED GANGSTERS IN CUSTODY
"We have taken some 28 suspected gangsters into custody and we are now interviewing them to determine whether or not they have been involvement in criminal activities."
In responding to the success of the new unit, Dr. Horace Chang, the Member of Parliament for North West St. James, which is dubbed the unofficial 'murder capital' of the parish, said he was pleased with the early success but cautioned that it was still too early to properly assess the impact the new measures were having.
"This initiative is a big improvement over what we had before, especially in terms of addressing the severe murder situation," said Dr. Chang, who earlier this year called for a crime summit in the wake of a spate of murders in the parish. "If we can keep things under control for the next six months we should be well on our way to putting an end to this problem."
In confirming that the gangsters are now on the run, Area One crime chief, Senior Superintendent John Morris, said the relentless pressure being applied by the special police unit is reaping success, as, there have been only two stabbing deaths for the past three weeks.
"We are no longer having the drive-by shootings and the guns have gone silent in the areas where they were being fired in recent months," said SSP Morris, crediting the unit. "Normality has returned to most communities as residents are now able to move about without fear."
The special unit was formed after business leaders expressed concerns that the wanton killings in the inner-city area could spill over into the Montego Bay business district and tourism belt.
