Assistant Commissioner of Police John McLean (left), Dr Marigold Thorburn (centre) of Parenting Partners Caribbean and Sharene McKenzie, civil society specialist, USAID-COMET project, in discussion during a conference at the Hilton Kingston hotel in St Andrew yesterday. The function was to sensitise stakeholder organisations to the importance of parenting education in reducing crime and disorder. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Western Bureau:

The St James Police High Command yesterday released the names of the parish's 10 most-wanted men and announced bounties of $100,000 each for information leading to the recapture of eight of them.

The list, released during a press conference at the Freeport Police Station in Montego Bay, includes Cedric 'Doggie' Murray and Omar 'King Evil' Lewis, who were named among Jamaica's top 10 wanted men by the Criminal Investigation Branch last week.

The $100,000 bounties announced yesterday do not apply to Murray and Lewis because they are subject to larger rewards, since they are among the nation's most wanted.

Dismal picture esterday, Superintendent Steve McGregor, the commanding officer for the St James Police Division, urged residents to come forward with information on the parish's prime criminal suspects.

"We have intelligence linking these men to the crime wave that has been sweeping the parish since the start of the year," he said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifford Blake, the commanding officer for Area One, presented a dismal picture of the crime situation in the west, noting that it has increased in all four western parishes - St James, Hanover, Westmoreland and Trelawny.

"We believe the men we have identified are the main players behind the violence," he asserted.

Both Blake and McGregor share the view that the infamous lotto scam, robberies and gang feuds were primarily responsible for the spate of murders, which has seen St James recording more than 100 homicides since the start of the year.

Despite the failure of the various policing initiatives to curtail the mayhem, McGregor said the police remain resolute in their bid to make St James a safe parish.