48-hour curfew imposed in sections of Manchester

By Racquel Porter/Halshane Burke    

 

A 48-hour curfew has been imposed in sections of Manchester in response to an increase in criminal activities.

 

The curfew imposed in Trinity, Hampton, Redberry, and Porus started 6:40 p.m. Wednesday and will expire on Friday.

 

The boundaries of the curfew are north from the border of Clarks Town district; east along an imaginary line from the intersection of the Toll Road and Melrose District, 2,000 metres to a section of the Porus main road in the vicinity of Barnet Street;

 

East from the border of Water Mouth; south along an imaginary line, 2,400 metres from North boundary at Porus main road to a section of the main road at Redberry district.

 

It continues west along the border of Broadleaf; northerly along an imaginary line from Redberry district at the southern boundary, 1200 metres to the nothern border at the intersection at Toll Road and Melrose district.

 

During the hours of the curfew, all persons within its boundaries are required to remain within their premises, unless otherwise authorised by the ground commander. 

 

Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent Carey Duncan, Commanding Officer for Manchester, said the security measure was imposed to reduce murders. 

 

"Based on our analysis we realised that we must...make some special effort in these areas in order to reduce the murders going forward for this year. And so I just want to say to the persons in Manchester that it is not our wish at any point to restrict the movement of any member of the parish. However, where we find that we have some recalcitrants in some areas who are bent on disobeying law and order and to create mayhem and anarchy in these spaces, then we have to employ some special measures in order to arrest these incidents," he explained. 

 

DSP Duncan said he is anticipating push back from people with authority. 

 

"We have intelligence that is suggesting that there are some persons who are of influence, public figures within certain areas in Manchester, and that they are instigating demonstrations around these curfews," he disclosed. 

 

But he urged these individuals and other residents to assess the good that comes from the curfew and "look at the level of peace and tranquil that the communities are now experiencing". 

 

He promised that the curfews will end as soon as the police feel comfortable that the communities have returned to normality. 

 

But he vowed that the police will not let up on operational activities in the parish in the interim. 

 

Deputy Superintendent Duncan also sought to assure residents and business operators across the parish that the police will not relent in their efforts to ensure their safety.

 

He called for the community and the church to continue to support the police through partnership and prayer. 

 

The deputy superintendent, pointing to the availability of restorative justice centres, also called for peaceful means to be found to resolve domesic and other disputes.