Claims that State employees and officials have been experiencing difficulties accessing gated communities in the execution of their jobs have been countered by representatives of two of the islands largest such neighbourhoods.

Among the individuals said to have been impacted by limited access to gated communities are the police, people serving jury summons, and census takers. However, Meadows of Irwin Citizens’ Association President Orville Henry and Richmond Estate General Manager Kemilee-Ann Williams say they have not received any reports of State officials having problems accessing those communities.

“We do have security measures in place whereby we do get feedback from security [officers] at the gate. To date, we have not received any feedback from our security to say there have been occasions where persons would want to enter the community in these types of capacities, whether it be [to serve summonses for] jury [duty] or public officials from the Government end who need to get into the community,” Henry told the Jamaica Observer.

“We do have government workers access and so therefore, once a government worker or somebody who is aligned with any ministry, whether it be the Ministry of Health or otherwise, they are allowed to come into the community,” Henry added.

“We do have a vector control team that gets here to do their fogging, and there’s no hindrance, provided that they provide identification, that’s all that is required. They just need to say that they are government workers, we are here to do this particular duty, and they would just need to show their ID,” he said.

Henry further noted that there is a police booth within the gated community that gives cops the freedom to patrol the area and conduct investigations.

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes first raised the issue of access to gated communities for the serving of jury duty summonses while delivering remarks at the swearing-in ceremony for 12 members of the judiciary as judges of appeal, puisne judges, and masters-in–chambers at King’s House in January.

“The proliferation of gated communities, both in Kingston and across the island, they are presenting a challenge to the police to get into these communities to serve the documents on the requisite persons, so all of this results in a small number of persons turning up as jurors for jury duties,” he said at the time.

Two months later, Statistical Institute of Jamaica Director General Carol Coy, addressing concerns raised about the pace of the 2022 population and housing census, said that the count was affected by heightened concerns about privacy, security, and the proliferation of gated communities.

“Access to gated communities was a significant problem. Additionally, respondents in some communities were less than cooperative with the census takers and supervisors,” she said.

The most recent complaint about access to gated communities came earlier this month when the Jamaica Constabulary Force issued a press release saying that there were instances of cops being obstructed while performing their duties in these communities.

“It has come to our attention that there are elements within gated communities obstructing the police when we attempt to carry out our responsibilities,” said Senior Superintendent Christopher Phillips.

“We are earnestly asking for your cooperation. Do not prevent us from entering your communities; rather, join us in our efforts to thwart criminal elements and ensure a secure living environment,” he added.

In relation to Richmond Estate in St Ann, Williams said that to her knowledge, government officials have never been denied access to the community.

“The police have free access. All of our security [officers] are trained, of course, to question everyone at the gate; however, once the police have identified themselves and the reason they are there, they are given free access. It’s against the law to stop the police in pursuit of their duties,” she said.

“If they are having problems, then I would expect them to call and point it out so that we can deal with it. We have two sets of security at our gates, we have Hawkeye, and we have internally trained people, and both of them are aware of our policy,” she added.

“We don’t shield criminals at all. In fact, we have a very good relationship with the St Ann’s Bay police, and any problems they have they always call,” Williams said.

She said that census takers, like all other visitors to Richmond, would be subjected to question at the entrance, “but once they provide proper ID they’re good” .