MONTEGO BAY, St James — St James, which has seen a spike in murders this year, will be a strong contender for one of the two zones of special operation (ZOSO) the Government plans to add to its arsenal of crime-fighting tools later this year. It is still unclear, however, which communities would join the list of those already being closely monitored by the security forces.

“If ZOSO is coming one is likely in St James and one in the Corporate Area, but we are not certain yet. We haven’t looked at the data to decide where we are going yet. But based on the usual criteria of activity and so forth, St James is a prime place,” Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang told the Jamaica Observer. He is also deputy prime minister and Member of Parliament for St James North West.

During his presentation in the 2021/22 Budget Debate earlier this month, prime minister Andrew Holness indicated that there would be changes coming in the number of ZOSOs across the island.

“We are planning to add an additional two communities and restructure the operation of one existing ZOSO,” he said, adding that the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) is mandated to manage the social transformation of these communities. “This means two less communities at war and a lessening of the murder rate,” Holness added.

As at last Saturday some 40 murders were recorded in St James, 23 more than the 17 recorded in the parish over the corresponding period last year.

In a bid to halt the bloodshed, several curfews, manned by members of the security forces, have recently been imposed in the inner-city communities of Norwood, Bottom Pen and Quarry.

A senior police officer in St James, who spoke with the Observer West, but did not wish to be identified by name, explained that while there has recently been a surge in murders the killings are not confined to one area; therefore it is not clear in which community a ZOSO would be placed.

For instance, he pointed out, last year there were no murders recorded in Quarry. But this January, 76-year-old Estriana Wilson, who was cut down in a hail of bullets, even as she pleaded for her life, was among two people killed in an attack by marauding gunmen.

The seasoned cop noted that since the double murder, in which 48-year-old painter Dwight McCallum was also killed, there has been no other homicide recorded in Quarry and so it would “not fit the bill” for a ZOSO.

“So they have to carefully examine the indicators… it’s like social science and all the research points have to match up. It takes a lot of variables before a ZOSO can be set up,” he added.

Meanwhile, Jamaica Labour Party councillor for the Montego Bay Central Division Joshua Cummings said he would welcome a ZOSO in specific sections of Norwood in his division.

“The Norwood area is so vast. The truth is you have sections within Norwood that have crime and violence like Huger Lane, Hollywood, Nelly Lane — three areas which are almost on one side. Those three areas are very close, so if you thinking about ZOSO, that is an area you would like to cordon off . And I can tell you most of the killing is happening in that belt,” Cummings argued.

“Not all the communities [in Norwood] are [deserving of] the stigma that is put out there. It is just a section of the community. The vast majority of the community is middle class.”

ZOSOs currently exist in Mount Salem, St James; Denham Town, West Kingston; as well as Greenwich Town and August Town in St Andrew.

Interventions undertaken in Mount Salem since the community was declared a ZOSO in 2017 have significantly transformed the area, according to the security ministry. He says the community has benefited from investments in human development and physical transformation of more than $200 million. The expenditure has been channelled towards infrastructure improvement.

For example the $45-million upgrade of the Mount Salem Police Station, now underway, is expected to be completed next month.

There is also a plan to, this year, begin rehabilitation of the Mount Salem Primary and Junior High School as well as transform a rundown community centre in the area. These projects will be facilitated under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme.

Extensive work has also been done in the area of waste management; a zinc fence removal project was initiated, replacing them with reinforced concrete walls; roads have been rehabilitated; scores of households have had their accounts regularised by the National Water Commission (NWC); among other benefits.

A ZOSO is declared under the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Act. It seeks to contain crime while safeguarding the human rights of residents and promoting community development through social intervention initiatives.