GOVERNMENT yesterday announced an action plan to stem the incidence of abduction across the island and to encourage confidence in the police force among the citizenry.

The plan, according to a release from Jamaica House, provides for an “immediate increase” in police patrols at the schools where cases of abduction have been reported, a “general enhancement” of the existing Safe Schools Programme as well as an increase in the recruitment of district officers. It however provided no details.

Up-to-date reports relating to abductions, including detailed profiles and current numbers of missing persons, are also to be made to the prime minister on a weekly basis.

The proposals, which came out of an emergency meeting with ministers of government, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Jamaica Defence Force and other stakeholders at Jamaica House yesterday morning, come a day after the police reported that many of the abduction reports were false.

At a press conference at the police commissioner’s office Friday afternoon, senior police officers reported that there has been a decrease of almost 46 per cent in the abduction rate this year when compared to last year.

Media reports have been highlighting the fears, concerns and anxieties of the public given what appears to be a targeted attack on young women and girls. But yesterday, prime minister Golding called on citizens to remain calm, saying he was assured that ongoing investigations by the police show that there is a significant gap between the reality and the perception in terms of the number of actual abductions and abduction attempts.

“The meeting also put forward a proposal for the involvement of private security firms to work with the police in patrolling specific areas. A sub-committee, chaired by the Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, and including the Ministry of National Security and the Jamaica Constabulary Force, has also been established to review policies and develop programmes that will address issues of discipline, safety and protection of students, and the rehabilitation of students with deviant behaviour. The group will also address the measures for implementation and will develop a medium-to-long-term action plan, rooted in the Ministry of Education’s newly developed Security and Safety in Schools manual.

In the meantime, the police are calling on the public to be vigilant, to take responsibility at the community level and to report all incidents of abduction and other types of criminal activity. They are also urging that persons refrain from making false reports as they will only serve to fuel fear and panic in the society.

On Friday Deputy Police Superintendent Cornwall ‘Bigga’, Ford told the Sunday Observer that the Flying Squad would be carrying out a series of operations in the Corporate Area over the next two weeks in an attempt to curb the spiralling trend.

“The deputy commissioner of crime and the deputy commissioner of operations mandated the task force to take on the challenge of dealing with this problem as a result of the increased panic among citizens,” said Ford, who heads the Flying Squad.

Communities such as Havendale, Hughenden, Hope Pastures, Mona, and other areas in which the police have received reports of kidnappings would be targeted by the police in routine overt and covert operations, Ford said.