A number of the country’s businesses, including the retail and distributive trades, will be ‘locking shop’ today in support of the call by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) for businesses to close to protest the escalating crime problem.

However, many enterprises will open for part of the day and close at lunch time, while others have opted to remain open but show solidarity by encouraging their employees to attend the protest rally at Emancipation Park in Kingston.

A number of enterprises including banks, credit unions, gas stations and supermarket chains told the Observer yesterday that they would be closing their doors.

Meanwhile, Senator Burchell Whiteman, the information minister and government’s chief spokesman, said that while the administration understood the need for the protest to register “strong concern” with the serious crime problem in the country, it was hoping that the protest would not be used by some elements to create disorder.

“The hope is that the protest will not derail the current agreement between the government, the opposition and the police on the importance of maintaining a united front on crime.

“The protest is something one has to respect and understand as a strong expression of concern… recognising that it is not an anti-government protest, as the organisers have made clear, while being acutely aware that the government has the lead responsibility for the security of the nation,” said Whiteman.

Among the entities closing will be the National Commercial Bank (NCB), which will close all its branches islandwide at 1:00 pm and the SuperPlus chain of supermarkets.

The Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA) has, in the meantime, urged gas stations to lock down their pumps between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm, while the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League (JCCUL) – umbrella organisation for the island’s 50 credit unions – will be closing its corporate office and has been encouraging its members to close their doors today.

In a statement yesterday, the JCCUL said that the “time has come for the people, the government, the police and all Jamaicans to join together in this fight against the wanton and callous waste of lives of persons, including those of innocent children in our society”.

The Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) will close at 1:00 pm.

President and CEO of the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Keith Duncan said the PSOJ protest was “an important step in the country’s quest for peace and prosperity and in keeping with the watchwords of love and harmony that have been expressed by JMMB over the years”. The JMMB, he said, will close at 1:00 this afternoon.

While not closing its businesses, the giant GraceKennedy Group, which includes retail and trading, information services, money transfer, banking, supermarkets and maritime services has indicated its support for the protest.

Chief corporate affairs director James Moss-Solomon said his company supported the protest but recognised its duty to its consumers as well as to observe certain regulatory mechanisms which governed its operations.

Meanwhile, the Synod of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands has supported the call to support the police, while noting that the protest action led by the PSOJ should be seen as only “starting points to a much more aggressive campaign”.

“The will to take a stand against criminality, to disassociate from forces resolute to destroy Jamaica and to be in solidarity with crime fighters is not only our civic duty but it is our God-given calling. We are obligated, as members of the human family, to protect ourselves from those who come to kill, steal and destroy,” said the Synod in a statement.

The PSOJ organised today’s protest to register discontent against the increase in crime and violence, which has left more than 600 people dead since January 1.

President Beverly Lopez has asked Jamaicans to wear the national colours – black, green and gold – and drive with their headlights on to register their support.

Today, starting at 2:00 pm, the PSOJ will hold a protest rally at Emancipation Park in New Kingston, while tomorrow members will gather at Trafalgar Park in Kingston to pay respect to the murdered Jamaicans by laying flowers in their remembrance.