A businessman in Rock Hall, St Andrew is complaining bitterly about a curfew imposed by the police that he claims has crippled commercial activity in the area.

“The curfew is putting unnecessary stress on business people plus there is no real police presence, no patrols, the only people who are suffering are the business people in the square,” one business owner, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Observer Online.

“Businesses like the gas station, the Supreme Ventures outlet, the wholesales, the haberdasheries, everything has to close at 6 but everyone else is wandering around because there are no police patrols and there are criminal elements now ordering people off the street and ‘badding’ up residents to leave the Square,” he added.

Police in the St Andrew North division imposed the curfew in response to a flare-up of violence in Rock Hall, but the business owner said the curfew is a disproportionate response.

“The only violence we know of is that someone got shot in their hands three weeks ago. That should not meet the criteria for a curfew,” the business owner said.

“The curfew started last Wednesday, stopped Wednesday, and then started back Thursday, this is foolishness. When will this curfew end?” he said, exasperated.

The business owner underscored the importance of police and citizen partnership to restore peace and economic activity to Rock Hall.

“Let us be partners to keep the community alive. We cannot have these continuous curfews that kill economic activity,” he said.