Police move to counter One Order gang's resurgence

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

POLICE in the hotbed old capital of Spanish Town have ramped up their crime-fighting tactics as the town is besieged by the marauding One Order gang.

In the last two years, the gang has been relatively quiet but cops in the area report that since the start of the year they have seen an upsurge in criminal activities in communities dominated by the One Order Gang, while areas dominated by the Klansman Gang have become quiet.

"Many of the crimes are now taking place in the North Western side of the township moving away from the South Eastern end which is the stomping ground for the Klansman gang," said Superintendent Anthony Castelle, head of the St Catherine North Police Division.

The One Order gang aligns itself with the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party while the Klansman gang supports the ruling People's National Party.

In a press conference last week, Castelle noted that gangs aligned with the ruling party usually cause less trouble, hence the shift in focus from the Klansman to the One Order gang.

To counter the new upsurge in crime, the police are confident that recent measures implemented would continue to reap positive results.

The cops also warned that they would continue to pursue members from both gangs believed to be behind a numerous crimes in the town.

Homicide detectives from the St Catherine North Police Division suspect that a deadly attack on a group of people at a car wash in Johnson Pen, Spanish Town, St Catherine last Thursday may have been a contract killing.

Police said one man, Glenroy Prussia — the 43-year-old owner of the facility — was shot dead and two others injured in the incident.

The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) report that the group of men was attacked by gunmen sometime after 11:00 pm.

Prussia died on the spot while the other two men were taken to hospital and are now in stable condition.

"Police are looking at a number of motives in this case, one of them is that the attack may have been a hit," said Castelle.