Project STAR heads to Salt Spring

Salt Spring in St James is slated to benefit from the social intervention initiatives under Project STAR, a social and economic transformation vehicle created by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) in partnership with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee, vice-president of the PSOJ and data specialist for Project STAR, said that Salt Spring was selected because of the vast number of major crimes committed there over the last three years.

He said the community, located just outside Montego Bay, has the highest rate of increase in major crimes over the past 12 months.

"Project STAR is going to provide support ... to arrest the increasing trend of crime in Salt Spring, and from a logistical point of view, Salt Spring fits the profile in that it ... has several institutions such as churches, schools, and community organisations in place that can take ownership of these initiatives that will be facilitated by Project STAR," Lyew-Ayee said.

He was speaking at a press conference at the Summit in Kingston, recently.

Project STAR has been working in the communities of east downtown Kingston, Savanna-la-Mar in Westmoreland, and May Pen in Clarendon. Saffrey Brown, project director at Project STAR, said the team looks forward to supporting Salt Spring in the coming months.

"Project STAR is focusing on community led development, as we believe it is the foundation of progress," she said.