Parade Gardens pleased with ZOSO declaration

A resident of Parade Gardens, who lost a relative to gun violence last year in central Kingston, has welcomed the decision to name the often-volatile community a zone of special operations (ZOSO).

She believes that the presence of the security forces in her community, at least for the next 60 days, will make a difference.

"Bwoy mi happy bad! At least mi supposed to can go a mi bed a nighttime feeling a little bit more comfortable knowing say the gunman dem nah go have the free reign like last year," she said. Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the ZOSO in a press conference yesterday. He made it clear that these measures will not be going away anytime soon.

"I want the country to bear in mind that this is a long-term strategy. Yes, when we do intervene in the communities, you see an immediate reduction in violence, the gangs disperse, criminals leave the area; they cannot return to conduct their criminal activities. But it is more than that, it is more than a displacement strategy," he said. The prime minister said this is a strategy that his administration will impose as it has shown success in the past.

"For the five communities, now six that we have put in place, the peace has held and held significantly. If you look at all of them, the historical crime activities in the communities that we have declared zones of special operation are far higher than the present state when they are under a zone of special operation," he said. "The criminals have not returned, and if the criminals have returned, the communities have been so hardened that they are not able to carry out their criminal activities."

Parade Gardens joins Denham Town in west Kingston, Greenwich Town and August Town in St Andrew and Norwood and Mount Salem in St James, as communities also under ZOSO.

In central Kingston, the war between the Genasyde and Darkside gangs has plagued residents since September 2020, with 79 people being killed and another 77 reportedly shot and injured in 2021.

Another Parade Gardens resident said that with the imposition of a ZOSO, walking about in the community will not be a frightening experience.

"Mi used to be so afraid a evening time when mi a walk a come home from work because yuh never can tell when anything ago happen or where. Mi happy fi dis, a long time central fi get ZOSO. But this can at least mek people walk round di place without fear of a drive-by or anything," she said.

Holness said as part of the long-term peace-building plan, once security forces have entered communities and apprehended the criminal elements, they begin a social intervention plan to reform the community. He noted the 'build phase', where stakeholders start improving infrastructure, including the repair of roads and fixing of gullies and drains. Holness said that these projects change the attitude of the residents towards their community. "They start to take ownership of their community," he said.

Other social plans then follow, including training sessions for leadership, parenting and entrepreneurship, as well as youth and sports programmes.

"We have always had a strategy of community intervention but what we have not had, which is what the zones of special operation give us, it is working together in a synergistic and coordinated way to have the security forces working in parallel with the social intervention in a targeted way and we believe that this will give the best results," he said.