Serious crimes down in police Area One, except Trelawny

By Nakinskie Robinson   

 

As serious crimes continue to trend down in Area One, Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner Glenford Miller says Trelawny remains an outlier.

 

In light of this, ACP Miller says the Area One police are continuing to intensify their crackdown on criminal gangs in the western part of the country, adding that there is more work to be done to eradicate rampant criminality.

 

Speaking with Radio Jamaica News on Wednesday, ACP Miller lauded the work of his team which has managed to get a handle on crime in Westmoreland, Hanover and St. James.

 

He said the citizens have been critical in achieving crime reduction.

 

"We have three of our divisions that are showing a reduction in murders right across the area, with the exception of Trelawny, that is up just slightly above as to where they were last year."

 

But the Area One chief said the seizure of several illegal guns also indicates that the police cannot relent in its crime fighting efforts. 

 

"Since the start of the year 2024, Area One has actually recovered 130 firearms... and a total of 2,379 assorted ammunition from the streets right across Area One, and this is a whole lot. So it goes to show that we are still in problems," he admitted. 

 

The senior cop said the police will continue taking the fight to criminal elements. 

 

"It is never our intention to have confrontation out there with anyone that we go to arrest. But if persons try to harm the police officers or any member of the public, the police officers will indeed take the various and necessary action to defend themselves and defend the members of the public," he warned, noting that some who have challenged the police have been fatally shot.  

 

While the police have seen success in arresting some gangsters and dismantling their criminal organisations, ACP Miller admitted that "there are still remnants of many of the gangs". 

 

Last week, Carlington Tommy Godfrey, a man who had been listed as Westmoreland's most wanted, was killed in a reported confrontation with the police during a targeted operation in Little London.