ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — The St James police are warning that there will be no safe haven for criminals in the parish and is calling on residents to ostracise them from the communities.

“One of the best forms of ostracism is a thing called social sanction,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in charge of the parish, Steve McGregor.

“When the criminals get the message from residents that they don’t want to be a part of any unlawful activity and that they don’t want to be associated with or be seen in the company of lawbreakers, that is when they will get the message that they are not wanted. That is social sanction and it is one of the most effective of all crime-fighting tools,” he contended.

SSP McGregor was speaking to JIS News after a peace march through the Norwood community in St. James on April 24.

The event, organised by the Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP), received support from the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), the End Bullying Globally organisation, and residents.

SSP McGregor said the police are committed to working with citizens to bring crime in the parish under control. “Together, we are going to bring the friendly back into Montego Bay,” he said.

Coordinator of the Western Jamaica Chapter of the CSJP, Adenike Stephenson, told JIS News that the march was in response to a recent triple murder in the Norwood community, reportedly over a wet cellular phone.

She told JIS News that the CSJP will also be bringing the message of peace to other communities. “We will be going into other areas to spread the message that crime and criminality will not be tolerated,” she said.

For his part, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Dr Horace Chang, said he was saddened by the recent shootings in Norwood but is encouraged to see community and church leaders joining with the police in taking a stand against crime.

“We have to send a message, a very strong message to the criminal elements that we are not going to cower in fear and we are not going to sit back and allow our communities to be overridden with crime and violence,” said Dr. Chang, who is Member of Parliament for St. James North Western.

Chairman of the Western Jamaica arm of the PMI, Rev Everton Jackson, said he is heartened by the support for the march, noting that keeping the streets safe from criminals is the responsibility of every law-abiding citizen.

“We are not naive to believe that things will change overnight but what we are saying, the message we are sending, is that we are all in this together and we have to take a stand for peace and decency,” he said.