LUCEA, Hanover — As the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) battles public concern about the safety of data that will be collected in the upcoming national census, the Hanover Municipal Corporation has promised to do all it can to have residents from the western parish participate.

“Our intention is to really cooperate with Statin fully and give them all the necessary assistance that they want from us so that we get a proper end result, in terms of the numbers,” Mayor of Lucea Sheridan Samuels told the Jamaica Observer.

He had also indicated his strong support for the 15th Population and Housing Census during the most recent monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation.

“Our intention is to assist them by doing some town crier and all those things to make sure that these persons are fully aware of what it is all about and try to explain the importance of getting these data together,” stated Samuels, who said town hall meetings are not being ruled out.

“We have to know how many people live in this country so that we can plan properly,” the mayor added.

His comments came after a presentation by Statin Regional Coordinator Paul Kerr, who sought to address concerns about the safety of data collected. Among the concerns are heightened public mistrust and scamming activities.

“We have implemented procedures to ensure that confidentiality is maintained, not only at the data collection phase but also at the dissemination phase. Permanent and contracted workers are sworn to secrecy,” declared Kerr.

Under the Statistics Act, there is a penalty, including imprisonment, for revealing individuals’ private information.

The Population and Housing Census is conducted once every decade and was initially scheduled for 2021. It was delayed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The first census was conducted in 1884 and established that the country had a population of 377,433. The last census done in 2011 counted a population of 2,697,983.

This year’s census will run from September to December and will be the first digital exercise where tablets will be used in the collection of data.

There are two categories of questions that will be asked. They are guided by the United Nations principles and recommendations and discussions with local stakeholders.

The first is a household questionnaire that deals with the type of dwelling, toilet facility, solid waste disposal, source of domestic water supply, type of fuel used for cooking, migration and mortality.

On the other hand, the individual questionnaire surrounds age, sex, religious affiliation, ethnic origin, marital and union status, physical and mental limitations, training, economic activity and social welfare, fertility, transportation, information and communication.

Statin is an agency of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and was established under the Statistics Act in 1984. It is responsible for providing official statistics on the social, economic and environmental conditions of Jamaicans.