MONTEGO BAY, St James — National Security Minister Robert Montague says a top level probe is now underway to determine if criminal elements are networking in concert to challenge the security of the country.

“Some things are happening that we are monitoring; criminal elements, it seems, have networked and are acting in concert to take on the state and agents of the state,” said Montague.

“We have noted some connections, but as a country we will not surrender to them,” the security minister told rank and file members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force Wednesday, during his address at the Jamaica Police Federation’s 73rd Annual Joint Central Conferences at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in St James.

He urged the members to exercise caution, stressing that there seems to be an increase in criminal acts against them.

“We will keep you informed in the coming days. In the meantime, be aware at all times and encourage other officers to do the same,” he remarked.

He later told theJamaica Observer that, in recent times, there has been a marked increase in a number of vicious acts, emphasing that the situation is being monitored carefully.

“There have been a number of suggestions as to the genesis, but we are monitoring it, and our intelligence people are probing the various connections… so we are very cautious and we are allowing the professionals to do what they have to do,” he argued, adding that the spike in murders is something that concerns everybody.

Three police personnel have been killed since the start of the year.

The latest was 56-year-old district constable Lewis Robinson, whose body was found at an open lot adjoining a night club in Lacovia, St Elizabeth, on Monday.

Meanwhile, Montague, who was installed as the country’s national security minister following the ruling Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) victory at the polls in the February 25 General Election, said the Government is committed to improving the conditions under which the lawmen undertake their duties.

“The job you have to do is a difficult and demanding one, many of you face dangerous and often life-threatening situations every day, you deserve better and should expect better and will get better. We as a government are committed to that,” he told the gathering.

He argued that, to tackle the root causes of crime, “We need partnerships that will take the radical, innovative and sometimes uncomfortable steps to reform”.

“But reform we must. The police alone cannot solve crime. In reality the police force reacts to crime, but in that action many things sometimes go wrong, and over the years we have accepted them. The time has come when we as a society must confront our reality and begin the process of reform,” he argued.