Walk with ID, councillor urges
OCHO RIOS, St Ann — After being stopped and asked to identify herself as she made her way through the division she represents, Councillor Genevor Gordon-Bailey (Jamaica Labour Party, Lime Hall Division) is urging residents of St Ann to ensure they have a valid ID when moving about.
The parish is one of several now under a state of public emergency, a tactic which the Government has argued is necessary to rein in crime.
“We want the citizens to know that when they are leaving their home they should walk with proper identification. I know how important this is because I was in an area in my division and I was stopped and asked for proper identification,” said Gordon-Bailey.
“While I support the SOE I hope the citizens will not be abused because that is not the whole point; and I hope that we will yield some fruits by having the SOE in the parish,” she added. She was speaking last Thursday during the monthly meeting of the St Ann Municipal Corporation.
The parish’s addition, a few days earlier, to the latest list of those under an SOE raised a few eyebrows. However the police have often warned of criminals migrating from areas under SOEs to those where the measure is not in place.
In announcing the SOEs, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that as the Christmas season approaches there is a need to protect life and property.
“This will be the first Christmas since the ending of the Disaster Risk Management Act, and already we’re seeing and projecting an increase in activities including entertainment activities, including increased commercial activities, and we are already seeing a demand, a stretch on the resources that we have to guarantee the citizens that they will be able to go about their business in a safe and secure manner,” the prime minister said then.
St Ann has several big-ticket entertainment events planned over the holidays.
Since the start of the year the parish has recorded a 38 per cent increase in major crimes. There have been 63 murders so far this year when compared to 50 for the corresponding period last year.
