KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Security Council (NSC) says that it is satisfied that the decision to declare Mount Salem in St James as the first Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) was justified based on the relevant legal criteria, intelligence, as well as strategic and operational considerations of the joint command.

The NSC met today to discuss matters related to Zones of Special Operations, including concerns expressed in the media about the declaration of Mount Salem as a zone.

Mount Salem residents, members of the Opposition and other stakeholders took issue with the number of murders in the area used as justification in declaring the community a high crime zone. And the NSC, in a statement today, admitted that at the press conference announcing the first zone, there was an error made in the number of murders given as having been committed in the community in 2017.

The NSC, however, argued that this was only a single element of the data provided, and the figure and error would not have changed the recommendation made by the joint command.

The NSC said it has asked the Jamaica Constabulary Force to review their systems of data collection and collation to ensure that there are no systemic challenges.

“The JCF has also been asked to hold the correct Mount Salem Zone murder data until it has completed this process. It is anticipated that this information will be provided within the next 48 hours,” the NSC statement said.

The NSC is chaired by Prime Minster Andrew Holness and includes other members such as the minister of finance, the minister of national security, the minister of justice, the minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, the attorney general, the chief of defence staff and the commissioner of police.