POLICE Commissioner Owen Ellington yesterday praised members of the constabulary for the reduction in crime, especially murder.

Ellington, writing in this week’s Force Orders, said there has been a significant fall in serious crimes in the St Andrew South, Clarendon, Kingston Central and Westmoreland police divisions.

“It is a clear demonstration of what can be achieved with the benefit of better training, better planning, better operations and an acute realisation of the pivotal role we play in society as enforcers of law and order,” he said.

In St Andrew South, 57 fewer murders were recorded last year, when compared to 97 in 2010. “This is the first time in 19 years that the division recorded less than 100 murders. SSP Delroy Hewitt and his team demonstrated a very proactive approach to policing in difficult circumstances with emphasis placed on a well developed working plan and well co-ordinated operational initiatives,” said the police chief.

The Clarendon Division, led by Senior Superintendent Dayton Henry, recorded 75 murders last year, the first time since 1994 that murders have reached such a low level in the parish. “Henry and all members of the division focused their attention on gangs, depriving criminals of the freedom to operate and they worked steadfastly to a pre-determined policing plan,” Ellington added.

Superintendent Steve McGregor and the men and women under his charge in the Kingston Central Division also came in for praise from Ellington after only 18 murders were recorded there in 2011. The division has in the last decade tallied hundreds of murders and Ellington hailed the significant reduction as an outstanding achievement.

Said Ellington: “The cross-border initiative undertaken by McGregor, with especially his counterparts from Kingston Eastern and Kingston Western divisions, assisted the process of containment and is a practice which others in the JCF should use as a template for operations and disrupting the activities of mobile criminals.”

Superintendents Egbert Parkins and Lascelles Taylor who head the Westmoreland and Manchester divisions, respectively, were also praised for decisive leadership.

“Both divisions started 2011 with an upsurge in the number of murders. However, corrective actions, including a re-assessment of gangs and their activities in the divisions, were implemented. Gang members were targeted by the operations teams and a robust effort was made to inform residents of whom the criminals were and where they were located. The strategies worked and eventually both divisions had declines in murders at year end,” Ellington said.