Help us to stop migrating criminals - cops

WESTERN BUREAU:

Although St James' crime figures have decreased significantly since the imposition of the state of public emergency (SOE) in the parish, Deputy Superintendent of Police Angela McIntosh-Gayle is urging residents to work with the authorities in stopping criminals from migrating to other areas.

McIntosh-Gayle, who heads the St James Police Division's Community Safety and Security Branch, made the appeal while delivering the keynote address at the Kiwanis Club of Montego Bay's guest speaker meeting, which was held at the Gloriana Hotel last Thursday.

"Let's say you have a very quiet area, and you have a lot of murders in Mt Salem, but because of what is happening in Mt Salem, the criminals tend to migrate. So what happens is, you see these new faces coming in your area, and these are the same persons who are going to come and cause problems," said McIntosh-Gayle.

"That is why you have the neighbourhood watches and citizens' associations, but you can also share information with the police. You cannot sit back and let these criminals migrate from one area to another to cause high murder rates in your area."

Since the start of the SOE in St James on January 18, there has been a total of 60 murders recorded in the division to date, compared to 191 murders over the same period last year when the parish recorded 335 murders overall.