Security Minister Peter Phillips and St Catherine Custos Rev Sophia Azan in discussion during yesterday's meeting to discuss and find solutions to Spanish Town's crime problem. (Photo: Karl McLarty)

SECURITY Minister Peter Philips says the restoration of public order could be one of the solutions to the growing crime wave affecting Spanish Town - the St Catherine capital.

"A general atmosphere of disorder becomes the veil behind which a lot of more serious crimes take place and so we recognise that a critical element of recovering stability and lawful behaviour in the community is going to involve recovery of public spaces," Phillips told yesterday's launch of the Spanish Town Crime Prevention Programme at Arians Restaurant in Twickenham Park.

The security minister noted that illegal vending was one of the areas that had to be dealt with as part of the programme to restore public order in the old capital.

According to Phillips, the problem of illegal vending in Spanish Town has created the atmosphere for extortion as criminals move among people who run legitimate businesses to carry out their criminal activities.

"With an orderly environment we would be able to separate those of criminal intent from those legitimate and lawful ones," said the security minister.

Phillips expressed concern about the number of murders in Spanish Town, where most of the 107 murders in St Catherine have taken place this year.

"There is a severe problem in Spanish Town and certainly... on the basis of a survey conducted in this parish, the people of St Catherine see Spanish Town as the center of the problem," said Phillips.

In the meantime, the security minister noted that some of the recent successes in the fight against the illegal narcotics trade have led to a drying-up of the proceeds of drug traffickers, which has led to the criminals intensifying their efforts to sustain the levels of their illegal income by venturing into other areas including robbery and extortion.

"We are going to have to continue to put the pressure on those who are rooted in this illegal trade which threatens the very survival of our country; we need to go forward until we reach the point of conclusion and are able secure our communities once again," Minister Phillips said.

He added: "We are at the point where if criminality flourishes then all the hope for good jobs for good income will be stopped and we will be left with a morass of criminality within which the town and community will suffocate."

At the same time, Assistant Commissioner of Police George Williams, while conceding that there has been a major increase in crime in St Catherine North, said that investigations showed that most of the deaths were as a result of gang feuds.

He said, however, that the police in its quest to stem crime and violence have made efforts to strengthen the relationship with citizens. He pointed out, however, that when lawmen go into the communities some residents are more interested in having them meet their social needs. ". And it seems that they are more interested in meeting these needs rather than police community relations."

The Spanish Town Crime Prevention Programme will be looking at the different factors that have been contributing to criminal activities in the town, while seeking to develop solutions with the input of business operators, religious leaders, residents and political representatives.

Yesterday, members of the programme discussed and looked at possible solutions to the extortion racket, community relations, illegal vending, sexual abuse, and gun violence during workshops that followed the launch of the programme. A committee is to be set up later to monitor the areas identified for action.

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