FALMOUTH, Trelawny — With major crimes on the decline, newly appointed commander of the Trelawny Police Division, Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Ainsley McCarthy, has his sights set on reducing road fatalities which have been trending up in the parish since the start of this year.

As of Tuesday, there were nine recorded deaths from motor vehicle crashes this year, one more than the number for the corresponding period last year.

“We are also here to treat with one of the issues that affect Trelawny, that’s the issue of motor vehicle collisions. While we have a very low crime rate in the parish we are somewhat impacted by the number of road crashes and fatalities that occur from these crashes,” DSP McCarthy told reporters Tuesday.

Over the years, most of the fatal motor vehicle crashes have occurred along the leg of the North Coast Highway between Rio Bueno and Falmouth.

DSP McCarthy, who officially took over leadership of the Trelawny Police Division last Monday from now retired Superintendent of Police Winston Milton, said the number of personnel has been increased to boost police presence along the thoroughfare.

He is urging motorists to drive within the prescribed speed limit and exercise caution on the roadways in a bid to avoid crashes.

“We are imploring motorists who use especially the corridor from Rio Bueno to Falmouth to be extremely cautious on the road. Speeding is one of the major factors. We know the road surface is good but that does not tell the motorists to speed. So we are asking all motorists just to obey the speed limit,” DSP McCarthy implored.

“We are presently putting in place some enforcement to assist the Area One highway patrol who patrol our stretch over here in Trelawny. We have increased the numbers at Rio Bueno [police station] with an intention to have more presence on the road because we know that our business is safety. We have reduced criminal activity but we cannot just allow the accidents to go unabated,” he added.

DSP McCarthy previously led the Norwood and Mount Salem zones of special operations (ZOSOs). Norwood recorded zero murders in 2024. Newly installed operations officer for Trelawny, DSP Rohan Fletcher, was also once assigned to the Mount Salem ZOSO.

So far this year, five murders have been recorded in Trelawny, four fewer than the nine reported over the corresponding period last year.

“Myself and DSP Fletcher, who are here now, were both in Mount Salem for a period of time and will bring the same vigour and vitality to Trelawny in an attempt to ease the crime situation. Although Trelawny does not have a high numbers of murders, we are working to have Trelawny be in a better condition than it was in last year,” said the senior cop.

“So we are looking at reduction in all the major crimes by the end of this year. That is our promise to the people of Trelawny. We also want the people of Trelawny to come on board to partner with us. So far, we have had interaction with a number of agencies in Trelawny. The military has been one of our biggest supporters and they continue to support us. The goal is to have murders reduced in Jamaica,” he added.

McCarthy is determined that the police division he now leads will play a key role in achieving Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake’s mandate to keep murders below 800 this year.

“If we continue at the trajectory that we are now on, we may very well see murders under 600 for the year, and that is what we are aiming for. Trelawny has a role to play and as a division we will play our role to ensure that the mandate is kept where we can realise murders under 600, something we have not seen for years. So we are on board. We are working very hard to ensure that the commissioner’s mandate is accomplished,” he said.