ORGANISERS of parties for the Christmas holiday season are being reminded to apply for the requisite permits before they stage these events.

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Corporate Communications Unit Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay told a JIS think tank recently that it is important for all parties involved to be aware of these events, so that the necessary safety precautions and assessments can be done by the police.

“You need to get a permit from the local authority, such as the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation or the Parish Department. For some events, you need a fire certificate from the fire department. You also need to make contact with JACAP [Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers Limited], to see if they will have an interest in your event as well,” she explained.

SSP Lindsay noted that under the Noise Abatement Act it is required for organisers to make a written request or application to the commanding officer for the parish or the division in which they intend to host that event at least 10 days prior to hosting it.

“However, for some events, we recommend that persons make the applications way in advance because of what will be required for those events to be done. From the policing side when we get those applications, we also have to do some level of investigation to determine the suitability of the venues that they choose and the individuals as well who are hosting these events,” SSP Lindsay said.

She further informed that police investigations also involve doing checks on the promoters to ascertain the level of threat or risk that may surround the individual.

“If there are any risks or threats that could arise in the event that they host this event, we have to take all those things into consideration. Once they have fulfilled all the requirements by law, then they will get the various permits in writing, with some conditions, to go ahead and host the event.”