WESTERN BUREAU – Members of Montego Bay’s business community are hoping that a mixture of help from soldiers, more and better equipped cops and greater involvement by the private sector will help bring crime under control in St James.

They are also banking on the use of technology to help fight crime and have even committed to provide a database and at least one computer to help cops in their intelligence-gathering.

“We are very impressed with the level of intelligence (the police) are gathering, (it’s) a computer-based thing. We are going to help them with a computer information system and this is going to be done by e-Services’ Mr Patrick Casserly…,” president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce Winston Dear told the Observer Tuesday.

Casserly, he added, will provide the personnel to help the lawmen update their database.

When that is done, “they can get a better feel of what is going on and… (be proactive) in terms of future investigations and provide a higher level of security,” Dear said.

Eighty people have been killed in the parish since the start of the year, twice as many as the total killed for all of last year.

The spiralling murder rate spurred Montego Bay Mayor Noel Donaldson to urge prime minister P J Patterson to act, and a meeting was convened by the Office of the Prime Minister’s Western Regional Office on Tuesday.

In addition to the focus on intelligence-gathering, a contingent of more than 20 police officers from Kingston and 16 others from within the police force’s Area One have been dispatched to the parish to beef up the security.

“Those from Kingston are coming down to work operationally in St James. Those… from the other divisions are coming in specifically to look at the investigative aspect of it – to garner intelligence, get arrest warrants, and to place them before the court…,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) with responsibility for Area 1 Linton Latty told the Observer.

The efforts of those officers are to be complemented by the addition of four cars which the private sector pledged to supply to the crime-fighting effort during Tuesday’s two-hour meeting. The business community has also committed to providing petrol for the donated vehicles.

According to ACP Latty, he is in discussions with Police Commissioner Francis Forbes about the business leaders’ request for army personnel to be enlisted to help the police in the western resort city.

“It is a suggestion from the business community that I am discussing with the commissioner,” the ACP said.

There were also discussions, Tuesday, on the need to enhance security at the city’s air and seaports in an effort to prevent the influx of guns in the parish. There was also a new resolve from the business community to really get involved.

“More than money, they (the people) need us there. I would just call on the private sector to go out there and mix with the people. They really need us to show our face and help them with whatever project,” Dear said.

He added that the private sector, and the Chamber in particular, would lobby for the removal of zinc fences inside Montego Bay’s inner-city areas to help improve their aesthetic appearance and make them easier to police.