‘We will win this war’ - Chang says security forces will not yield to heartless criminals

Criminals wreaking havoc in the southern Savanna-la-Mar area of Westmoreland will soon be like "rats coming from their holes" and be easily identified and picked up by law-enforcement agents, who have been given the task to clear the communities of criminals and lay the foundation for its transformation.

The volatile communities in southern Savanna-la-Mar such as Russia, Dalling Street and Dexter Street were on Sunday declared a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. ZOSOs have been established in Denham Town and Parade Gardens in Kingston; Mount Salem and Norwood in St James; and Greenwich Town and August Town in St Andrew.

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, speaking at a virtual media briefing where the advanced security measure was announced, said that the ZOSO will bring respite to residents who have been suffering in fear due to high levels of murders and shootings.

"It will not only restore order in the limited geographical area, it is also designed to disrupt [and] to some extent, disperse the gangsters who operate in the area. Dispersion is not necessarily welcomed, but dispersing them from the areas in the clear phase of the zone of special operations will have them like rats coming from their holes, they are easy to identify and apprehend," the national security minister said.

The parishes of Westmoreland, St James and St Catherine, according to the minister, account for the lion's share of the murders on the island. He said that the number of homicides committed on the island, as of today, has moved ahead of the 2021 figures by a "significant number".

Chang said that in Westmoreland, the criminals have shown an "increased propensity for severe violence, designed to kill, maim and inspire fear".

"We recognise that we are in a war with violence and heartless criminals, but we will not relent. It is a war we will win," Chang said.

A ZOSO is declared under the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Act. It seeks to contain crime while safeguarding the human rights of residents and promoting community development through social intervention initiatives.

Prime Minister Holness said that the ZOSO that has been imposed in the southern Savanna-la-Mar area will give residents "a well-needed break ... a break from the gunshots every night, from sleeping under their beds".

Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson said that 128 murders were committed in Westmoreland last year, which represents a 60 per cent increase when compared with 2020. He said that the southern Savanna-la-Mar area is among the top 10 communities with the highest murders across the country.