MARLEY Road, a small community of about 150 persons in the Kingston 6 area, yesterday launched a neighbourhood watch after one resident decided not to give in to the demands of a ‘don’.

“He approached one of the gardeners, demanding money and when he did not get it, he said he would return,” co-ordinator of the neighbourhood watch, Andrea Curtis, said. The ‘don’, she said, returned, but “the gardener let the dogs loose on him, but he tried the same thing with a few other residents”.

She said that when she heard about the incident last August, she decided that the community had to unite or he would “use fear to divide and conquer”.

Yesterday, the members of the neighbourhood watch were encouraged by Senior Superintendent Leon Rose of the St Andrew Central Police to include dispute resolution as part of their monitoring activities.

“We have cut robberies in St Andrew Central by 49 per cent over the comparative period between this year and the last,” Rose said. “Sex offences have declined by 25 per cent… but homicide is of concern to us,” he told the residents.

“Of about 16 murders so far, only six have been committed by the gun,” he said. “The others were domestic violence… That speaks of our attitude and how we resolve disputes. As a neighbourhood watch, you could take on the issue of dispute resolution and see what changes you can make in the community.”

Here, Senior Superintendent Rose signs the register before the start of yesterday’s launch. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)