Parry Town residents take issue with curfew following deadly shooting

 

Residents of Parry Town, St. Ann have taken issue with a decision by the police to impose a 48-hour curfew in the area in response to a double murder on the weekend. 

 

The residents say despite the deadly attack, the security measure was not warranted as several neighbouring communities have had deadlier incidents without a similar response from the police. 

 

The curfew came into effect at 6 p.m. Sunday and is scheduled to end at 6 p.m. Tuesday. 

 

Ian Bell, Councillor for the Beecher Town division, is in support of the view held by the residents. 

 

"So we have a murder Friday night in Ocho Rios town, and since this start of this year, Ocho Rios township have had many murders and we have not had one curfew in Ochi, nor one locking down. If you look around in Parry Town now, every shop is locked now. It is so much unfair, right? 

 

"They take disadvantage...of the little man. I have been the concillor here for 18 years now and it is the first that we are having a curfew. I can tell you more guns used to bark in Parry Town than dog. Now, we have more dogs barking than gun, but yet now we have curfew. I think they need to come with better strategies that the persons will accept," the councillor pleaded.

 

In response, commanding officer for the St. Ann Division, acting senior superintendent Rohan Elliott, contended that the curfew is justified.

 

"We do not know exactly what is happening and Parry Town is one of our hot spots and it may have been as a result of the kind of presence that we would have had inside here over time why we did not have such an incident in over two years. So I understand the concerns of the residents because I know it will affect their economic viability, etc. But we have to take these kinds of steps to get a lid on what is happening until we bring the perpetrators to justice. And I want to again reiterate the need for the community members to tell us what they know," said the senior cop.

 

He added that the police will assess whether there is a need for a further extension of the curfew. 

 

The division has so far recorded an 8% reduction in major crimes, while murders are down 12%.