MONTEGO BAY, St James – The police are confident that they will not be fooled by even the most elaborate disguises worn by wanted individuals who may think they can blend in with the crowd enjoying Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay this weekend.

The two big nights of the annual reggae show are slated for Friday and Saturday at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre.

“We do have the concern of persons of interest [and] wanted persons wanting to come and enjoy the festival and may try to disguise as they deem necessary. That’s a concern for us,” head of the Area One Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Clifford Chambers told the Jamaica Observer.

“But, again, we know what these people look like — bleached or unbleached, wig or otherwise. There is technology that will help us to establish and identify those persons who we do have a photograph of,” he said during a telephone interview.

According to Chambers, his team — which has become quite adept at providing support — will take nothing for granted as they handle security issues that typically come with any major event. These may include individuals who object to being searched or who attempt to enter with weapons they deem not to be offensive, but the police think otherwise.

“We’ll have effective numbers on the ground to settle any issues,” he assured.

He said, for Friday and Saturday’s shows, manpower will be pulled from across Hanover, Westmoreland, Trelawny, and St James — the four parishes that make up the Area One Police Division.

“It’s an international festival and we have to police it accordingly. It is a face to the general world and so we have to give it our best shot to ensure that we provide good security for this music festival. Very, very important,” ACP Chambers stressed.

Sumfest is one of the biggest events on the entertainment calendar each mid-July and a major revenue generator. According to figures provided by the tourism ministry, the 2019 show pulled in some 10,000 visitors to the country and generated $1 billion based on average room nights stay of locals and visitors, as well as taxes.

Each year the police work closely with organisers to ensure all goes smoothly before, during and after the event that has been described as the largest music festival in the Caribbean.

In providing assurance that the police will pull out all the stops to ensure that patrons are safe again this year, ACP Chambers pointed to a comprehensive security management programme that has been implemented.

“This includes the screening of people who are allowed to sell — the concessionaires, the screening of their goods, searching to avoid contraband. Then we go in three hours before where the grounds will be locked, it will be properly screened and searched. We will have a total lockdown, using dogs. Then they hand over to the ground commander who will be responsible for security for the two events,” he explained.

He said preparations have gone well with all the major players working closely together.

“I have had a multi-agency meeting with the operators, the runners, the private security, the security manager for the event, health, fire, all respective stakeholders. We have had meetings looking at locations, the layout, the parking, our security arrangement as it relates to where the crowd will be coming from whether it is north, south where the heaviest crowd will be coming from. [We have looked at] where we will strategically place traffic persons, where the entertainers will be staying, the process of escorting them to the event; canvassing all of the parking locations, security arrangements for the parking locations; the lighting for the event, all the respective areas be it VIP, general have done all the necessary scoping out of the respective State agencies,” he added.

ACP Chambers assured patrons that Sumfest will be safe and well policed and asked them to help make the event incident-free.

“We want people to be on their best behaviour. It is going to be crowded and there might be bumps, stepping on toes here and there, [but] we want people to understand that everybody is coming to have fun. We’re hoping that people will just understand the nature and the purpose and just work with the organisers, the entertainers, the police. Follow instructions when they’re given and just ensure that we have an incident-free festival,” he implored.

Reggae Sumfest kicked off on Sunday, July 16 with the Family Fun Day/Community Fest at Catherine Hall Stadium. This was followed by the Street Dance introduced in 2018 as a gift from Sumfest to thank the community for its support. There was also the legendary All-White Party at Pier 1 on July 18; and Blitz, the all-black fashion statement, added to the line-up in 2017, was held at the Harbour City Mall on Wednesday, July 19.

The Global Sound Clash will be held at the Pier 1 car park on Thursday, July 20.