KINGSTON, Jamaica— Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang, has expressed satisfaction with transformation work in Mount Salem, St James, describing it as a model community for transformation through Zones of Special Operation (ZOSO).

 The minister made the declaration at the official opening of the rehabilitated Mount Salem Police Station in Montego Bay, St James this afternoon.

 The Mount Salem community was first declared as a Zone of Special Operation in 2017.

 “We are now seeing the results of what has been a Zone of Special Operation, coordinated and comprehensive approach to community development for sustainable violence reduction,” he said.

“This is the model that we are building out in the other ZOSOs as well as within the communities that have been designated as vulnerable and volatile. Inaction is not an option when it comes to ensuring the safety of our communities and security of our citizens,” Chang said, adding that “infrastructural deterioration and inferior service have for far too long characterised how residents in certain communities are treated.”

He said that the community was transformed through the government’s whole-of-government approach and strategic investment in community transformation.

The rehabilitation of the Mount Salem Police Station was funded through the European Union Poverty Reduction Programme and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, which led the execution of the project.

 According to the ministry, more than $200 million has already been spent in Mount Salem, with a further $80 million in new activities under active implementation.

 “This expenditure has been channelled towards significant improvement in the infrastructure of the community,” Chang said.

He noted that the renovation of police stations across the country is part of the process of transforming communities.

“In addition to the investments that have been made in other critical areas of policing, we are now seeing the improved capabilities and expanded capacity of the Force for Good,” he added.