HANOVER, Jamaica — A 72-hour curfew imposed within the Green Island police division on Friday was extended on Monday. This is the third one announced this month by cops who have spoken of residents’ reluctance to speak about the impact that inter-gang conflict and an influx of criminals has been having on their community.

“We are having a challenge. Nobody wants to be their brother’s keeper anymore and so it is hard to clear up some of these crimes,” operations officer for the Hanover police division, deputy superintendent Angela McIntosh Gayle told last Thursday’s regular monthly general meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation.

She appealed to councillors and others present at the meeting to work with the police in providing information. She attributed the criminal activity being observed in the area to fighting between rival gangs and lotto scamming.

“Everybody wants to get rich but they don’t want to work and when somebody short-changes someone, they are going after them. And it is not just the person [that has wronged them]; they are taking others with them — the mother, the father and even the dog they might take. We have to be proactive and work together,” stated McIntosh Gayle.

She said while murders are down in the parish by 24 per cent, Green Island continues to be an issue. She noted that while the police are trying their best, they are not getting the support of residents within the affected areas.

“We have to work together. In the Logwood area, where we have a lot of murders, we just want the citizens there to cooperate; to help us to help them reduce the crime in that area and, by extension, everywhere else in Jamaica,” she appealed.

“We know that the hotels help the economy because persons are getting jobs but we have a lot of migrant criminals. When they come into the space, some yes, genuinely want to work, but some are not about the work. They want to do other types of work. They associate themselves with others and then the residents tend to be housing them,” McIntosh Gayle added.

She said her team has encountered individuals from other parishes including St Mary, Portland, Clarendon, St Catherine, and more.

The police have reported that Green Island saw a 300 per cent surge in murders in April, with four murders committed in comparison to one for the same period last year. A total of 25 people were killed in the parish last year; 19 have been killed between January and May 9 this year.

Inspector Mervin Hodges, officer in charge of the division said the previous two curfews covered the areas of Logwood, Santoy and Orange Bay. The first curfew this month was on May 2.