St Andrew Central cops look to strengthen link with public

Residents in the St Andrew Central Police Division saw a different side to the police who spent time over the Christmas weekend to hand out care packages to the less fortunate, according to Senior Superintendent Marlon Nesbeth.

Nesbeth, the commanding officer for the division, said the initiative also involved dialogue with residents with an aim to build positive relationships with the citizenry who have in the past displayed some degree of apprehension towards the police. More than 100 people in hotspot areas such as Waltham Park, Papine and Rome received the care packages, which included various food items and other amenities.

"Our walk-through efforts and dialogue with residents in these communities are ongoing over sustained periods. These efforts generally are meeting our standards and objective objectives. The residents have been coming aboard as we partner to secure, assist and build," he said.

The senior crime fighter has set his sights on significantly improving the standard of policing within his division with an aim of further reducing the numbers of murders and other serious crimes. Data obtained from the police show that the division has recorded an 18 per cent reduction in murders, and three per cent reduction in shootings in 2021 when compared to last year. Nesbeth said that he was pleased to be overseeing this positive change, and credited the success to the relationship built with the public.

"We want to be in complete harmony with the people in the division. Our aim is to bring law and order through robust community engagement programmes to let the citizens know that they can trust the police as we continue to tackle the violence plaguing our society," he said.