Just weeks after receiving reports of customers being harassed at the gate of Dovecot Memorial Park and Crematorium in Spanish Town, St Catherine, the company has taken steps to secure its property and ensure visitor safety.

A representative of Dovecot says the harassment typically occurs on public holidays and Sundays when the facility is closed to the public.

Reports indicate that men from the nearby community, some carrying machetes, constantly gain access to the burial plot by removing a section of the main gate or cutting a hole in the property’s enclosing fence. When visitors arrive at the memorial park on days when it is closed, they are allegedly guided through these openings.

A smaller group of men, typically two or three, then accompany the visitors to the grave site and offer cleanup services for a fee, despite a clear sign on the property prohibiting tipping.

“Workmen are here on Saturdays to assist customers with clean up and so on, it’s really on Sundays and public holidays when there is nobody here, other than the security, that we have the major problem,” said Celecia Bailey, assistant supervisor at Dovecot.

However, Wayne Polack, a supervisor on the property, informed OBSERVER ONLINE that there have been no reports of visitors being robbed or harmed. Nevertheless, he views this unauthorized entry onto the property as highly dangerous. He believes that the same visitors who accept assistance from non-Dovecot personnel often create this precarious situation.

“To be honest with you, we haven’t received any reports to say that the men are robbing anyone or anything like that, but the men that are out there may have a cutlass because they may want to cut the grass. So, people may see that and think twice but they don’t rob anyone or anything,” Polack stated.

He continued: “The thing about it, to, is that we have told customers that they shouldn’t allow anyone without a uniform to assist them. They are sometimes the ones to be blamed because they will stop and take up the men into their cars and drive them in and when we approach them to get the man off the compound they will say ‘no man is me call him’. There are quite a few times of that happening and we have to be the ones to say, ‘they don’t work here and they aren’t allowed on the compound’, and they give all kinds of excuses. So sometimes the customers are to be blamed but we try to do as much as we can to control it.”

Dovecot reported that initially, the men gained entry through a small gate, which has now been secured. The section of the main gate that the men had tampered with has been repaired and welded.

The company has also temporarily addressed the hole in the fence. Security measures have been enhanced, and personnel will be present on Sundays, the primary problematic day, to prevent unauthorised entry. Additionally, a notice of closure for Sundays and public holidays will be displayed at the entrance of the memorial park.

A local bartender working in the vicinity informed OBSERVER ONLINE that since the implementation of these security measures, the group of men has dispersed. She welcomed the changes, expressing concern that ongoing harassment could impact her business.

“It kind of hard when you come to look for your loved ones and the headstones want to clean off and that’s what they do, they charge people to clean off the stones and so on. I don’t know how much it cost though,” the bartender said.

She added: “The men aren’t there anymore because they have tightened up security, so people don’t have to be afraid to come now.”

Dovecot confirmed that the property will remain closed to the public on Sundays, with exceptions for special occasions like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, during which the opening hours will be communicated through notices.