Dennis Robotham, President of the St. Catherine Chamber of Commerce - Gleaner file photo
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Dennis Robotham
By Nakinskie Robinson
President of the St. Catherine Chamber of Commerce, Dennis Robotham, has welcomed the commitment by Prime Minister Andrew Holness to break the back of crime in the parish capital, Spanish Town.
Mr. Robotham, who lauded the developments coming to the old capital via the Spanish Town Hospital and the St. Catherine divisional headquarters for the police, said these are critical to the progressive removal of criminal elements.
But he contended that reclaiming Spanish Town from the hands of criminals will not be an easy task.
"The fact is that our youngsters and young boys in these communities, inner city communities, are now being influenced by these criminals. We have to begin to create opportunity and create the whole structure of how we deal with the inner city and how we're going to change the mindset of our youth," he proposed.
The parish, particularly Spanish Town, has been a criminal hotspot for decades, producing two of the country's most notorious gangs.
Sections of St. Catherine North, however, have been seeing a downward trend in major crimes for 2024.
The division has heavily integrated community policing in its crime fighting strategy.
Mr. Robotham argued that recent downward trends in crime suggest that the police have been getting results as they undertake the programmes, classes with students and community interactions.
But he believes that flooding communities with police also requires additional support to achieve a significant reduction in crime.
Mr. Robotham was a guest on the Morning Agenda on Power 106 FM.
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