PORT ANTONIO, Portland – The Port Antonio police say domestic violence is on the increase in the parish, although there has been a reduction in other major crimes following a “zero-tolerance approach” being used to combat criminal activities.

Portland, which had the lowest murder count for last year, with only 10 murders, recorded some six murders since the start of the year, all of which were domestic related.

“Yes, domestic violence is on the increase, but we are trying to use conflict resolution to address this,” Corporal Debbie Ellis, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) liaison officer for the parish, told the Observer.

“Portland is a very controlled parish, in that we have put in place the necessary strategy to deal with the problems which have affected the area, and so we find that we now have most major crimes under control,” Ellis explained.

Ellis listed among the main crimes affecting the parish domestic murders, homicide threats and praedial larceny.

As it relates to praedial larceny, Ellis explained that cattle theft used to be a major problem, especially in certain geographic locations. However, she said this too was under control.

“From time to time, we hear that cows have been stolen, but they are always recovered,” the corporal said.

“We are usually on the roads in the wee hours of the morning when the thieves feel more or less that everyone is asleep, and that is when we catch them,” she explained.

The CCN liaison officer said the Portland police were also working in collaboration with members of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), who are concentrating on issues such as sand mining and street side vending, among other things.

There are allegations that a thriving illicit drug trade is taking place inside the parish, but Ellis said drugs was not one of the problems the police currently had to battle in the parish.

“We are not having a problem with drugs at this time, not that you will not hear rumours about some things, but once hearsay is not fact, we treat it as the allegation it is until it is proven otherwise,” she said.

She, however, expressed concerns about the allegations that the Haitians were importing firearms to Jamaica, while noting that the police had been monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Dudley Scott, who was recently transferred to the parish, told the Observer that although he did not know the overall crime statistics for the parish, he knew it was relatively low as major crimes were on the decline there.

“I know Portland is doing very well and I am confident that the police will continue to maintain a very low crime rate,” Scott said.

At the same time Scott, like Ellis, expressed concerns about the increase in the number of domestic-related murders.

As for the drug trade, he too argued that while allegations had surfaced about drug activities in the parish, there was still no evidence to support this. “We are putting certain measures in place to ensure that the police will maintain a visible presence on the road,” Scott said.

Meanwhile, Ellis said the police are aware that tourism is returning to the parish, and as such they are prepared to keep the streets safe for locals and tourists alike.

“When a ship is coming in, our management team will meet beforehand with resource persons from the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Tourism Development Product Company (TPDCo) because we know that when there is increased volumes we have to increase personnel,” she said, adding that “even when a small boat should call here we still find persons to facilitate that because we know tourism is very important”.

In fact, Ellis said Portland was looking forward to welcoming more visitors to the parish, and that the police would continue to cut the crime figures even further.