An executive member of the Half-Way-Tree and New Kingston Citizens Association is calling on the police to take a more active role when dealing with the prostitutes and cross-dressers who occupy gullies in the area from which they “terrorise” residents.

Michael Abrahams, who described his role in the association as a “watch dog,” told the Jamaica Observer that residents and passers-by were being attacked, robbed and even buggered, and now many people living in the area are opting to leave.

“We have a situation where persons are just selling out and moving on, because they got tired of it. On a particular housing development along Ruthven Road, several persons are selling their prosperity. Five out of about 12 people, and you wondering what is going on here and we talk to them and they are telling us they can’t go out at night, they can’t come in [and] they can’t leave anything outside, so they just selling and going somewhere else,” Abrahams told the Jamaica Observer, noting that five people left over the past year.

“A man was stripped totally naked and buggered. We’ve had so far about five of those incidents occurring in and around the area. It has gotten out of control, in the nights [around] 12 midnight to 4 o’ clock in the morning. I think enough is not being done about it and persons who at times are attacked are afraid to come forward and give statements because of how the police are behaving. Persons have been accused of doing business with them,” Abrahams continued.

He added that, despite his many complaints to police personnel in the area, officers advised him that they had not got any statements from victims about the issue, and as such they could not take action.

Abrahams said he is aware that the items that are stolen from the victims are given to various prostitutes to hide.

“When are we going to have laws which say the police can act without somebody coming in and talking to them?” a disgruntled Abrahams asked.

He also highlighted that the areas targeted include Half-Way-Tree, Ruthven Road, Cecilio Avenue, Winchester, Knutsford Boulevard, Ardenne Road, and Lady Musgrave Road.

“It happened to a young man who worked at the call centre along Half-Way-Tree Road. He was walking to Half-Way-Tree square to get a taxi about 2 o’ clock in the morning. The staff bus usually takes too long to get him home, and the same thing happened to him. The youngster was embarrassed to the point where he just did not go further [with police investigations]. I’m hearing further that he is one of the persons who picked up syphilis, and another young man who got herpes,” Abrahams said, making reference to a story published in the Observer last month, in which the man described being pounced upon by a group of at least eight people, including a woman, bearing machetes and knives.

Meanwhile, Corporal Christopher Tapper, from the New Kingston Police Division, told the Sunday Observer that the police were aware of the issue in the area.

“I can assure you that we have had instances of reports. However, not many [are] documented because when persons come to report to us they say they prefer if no action is taken and they do not provide the information [needed], so we have not much documented in diary. People are very reluctant to give official reports and even if we hear of it, we cannot compel a man to make a report,” Tapper said, echoing Abrahams’s statements.