Manchester police hunt suspect in break-ins, rape

 

The Manchester police are trying to identify a suspect in relation to a recent spate of break-ins and two reported cases of rape in the Dunrobin and Balvenie communities.

 

Residents of the two communities have been on edge since the incidents.

 

Radio Jamaica News spoke with Deputy Superintendent David Blake, Operations Officer for the Manchester Police Division, who said meetings have been held with some of the residents to reassure them of the presence of the police.

 

"The investigations are in the very early stages and we are collecting evidence, forensic evidence, seeking to identify a suspect. But as it stands now, the immediate response of the police is to insert more patrol into the space, both marked police units and unmarked police units," he said.

 

DSP Blake added that the police recently launched a Quick Response unit in the parish, which he said will help ensure they can respond in a shorter time to calls for service.

 

He said talks are also ongoing with the Manchester chapter of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica in relation to reviving dormant neighbourhood watches and citizens associations. 

 

"What we are finding [is] that in some of these communities, neighbours don’t know neighbours and these kinds of things, so as the police officers, we want to go in and we want to initiate a process where neighbours look out for each other," DSP Blake explained.