WHILE Acting Superintendent of Police Anthony Wallace is championing the gains from curfews imposed in sections of the St Mary Division, frustrated Baileys Vale residents have reached boiling point and are threatening to block roads as they claim they are living “like prisoners” in a ghost town due to the security measure.

In fact, one resident likened living in the community to what obtained at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when everyone had to “lock up and lock in” due to safety measures implemented to stem the spread of the infectious disease.

According to the St Mary police, the curfews, which have been ongoing in the area for months, were implemented in response to an increase in criminal activities. Imposed in 48-hour increments, the curfews run from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am and are sometimes extended. But the residents are crying out for relief, citing unlivable circumstances under the restrictions that are taking a toll on daily life and businesses.

Their discontent and threat of a protest come on the heels of a demonstration in Three Hills, Retreat, in the parish last week, with residents demanding answers about a curfew that was extended in that community. Albion Mountain and Boscobel are the other sections of the “banana parish” impacted by the most recent curfew.

Baileys Vale resident Beverley Nugent told the Jamaica Observer on Friday that the situation is particularly concerning when it comes to the treatment of young men in the community.

“The little youths, I have to talk on their behalf because they can’t live any life. They don’t have a life to live as youth in Baileys Vale. If the police come and see three or four of them right here, they have to stop and they have to search them. These youth were born and grew together, went to school together, and now, if they sit here, whether four or five of them, you hear that it is a gang — and I don’t think that is right. It really affects the youth,” she told the Sunday Observer during a visit to the community on Friday.

A mother of seven sons, she said her children are constantly harassed by police who say they are conducting operations in the area.

“If they go on the streets, police search them up and abuse them, and it is really embarrassing sometimes to see how the police deal with them on the road. I don’t like it,” said Nugent.

“When they come to your yard before daybreak, they wake up the pickney out of their bed [and] search them up, carry them to the station, process them, and then nothing… it has to be lifted,” she said in reference to the curfew. “We can’t be living like we are prisoners.”

Another resident, Daneila Henry, said that communication between the police and residents has also been poor, with little to no notice given that a curfew will be in place. She added that many residents are also unclear about the reason for the curfews, and claimed that there has been no evidence of violence in the area.

“You can’t ask them any questions when they come, like, ‘What is the problem?’ They won’t give you an answer,” she said, seemingly frustrated.

Henry shared that she has heard rumblings from other residents that the police are trying to find the owner of a furniture store in the area that is allegedly scamming individuals, but claimed that there is no furniture store in Baileys Vale.

“It’s like a trend now. When it touches Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we have curfew… Even if they don’t put anything out to say there is a curfew, the police still come bother us,” said another resident who identified herself as Tammy.

“If we don’t get any answers we are going to block the road!” she said, gaining support from other residents who had gathered to speak with the Sunday Observer.

Multiple sections of St Mary have had 48-hour curfews implemented since the start of the year, in order to curb violence. During the hours of the curfew all individuals within its boundaries are required to remain within their premises, unless otherwise authorised by the ground commander.

Police statistics up to December 28, 2024 show that St Mary had recorded 26 murders last year, down from 37 over the same period in 2023. There were also three fewer shootings over the period in 2024 compared to 2023, with 25 incidents recorded. While rape was also down by 70.4 per cent year on year, robberies climbed by 18.2 per cent and break-ins surged by 92.3 per cent.

St Mary has recorded nine murders between January 1 and May 10, 2025, a decrease from 11 recorded for the same period of 2024. Shooting incidents have also decreased, with 10 reported in the same period in 2025, compared to 18 in 2024.

According to Acting Superintendent Wallace, head of the St Mary Division, the curfews implemented in Baileys Vale are guided by intelligence and form part of a broader mission to crack down on crime in the parish.

He stated that the community is plagued by conflicts between domestic criminal elements and migrant criminals, which have threatened to disrupt the peace and tranquillity of the community and parish.

“We have reaped tremendous success in recent times due to the strategic measures employed to curb crime across the parish. Among these strategies [is] the imposition of curfews in key areas, [which] has played a pivotal role. As a result, we have observed a steady decline in major crimes, which is a testament to the effectiveness of our targeted efforts,” he wrote in a statement to the Sunday Observer.

“However, despite these gains, there has been a recent uptick in criminal activities in specific areas within the division. Intelligence indicates that rival criminal factions and scammers have reignited conflicts, threatening the progress we have made. In response, curfews have been reintroduced in the affected communities as a necessary measure to contain and disrupt these criminal networks,” said Wallace.

He further noted that the parish has seen a troubling rise in motor vehicle theft and house break-ins, which demand decisive action.

In response to residents’ claims that the police have been aggressive in their approach, he said the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) encourages the highest level of professional conduct and customer service from its members, and all reports of unprofessional conduct are investigated by internal and external entities.

“We remain committed to implementing strategic and robust policing tactics aimed at dismantling criminal elements and their operations. Let it be clear: These curfews are not designed to inconvenience law-abiding citizens but to send a strong message to those intent on undermining the peace and security of the St Mary [Police] Division. Our goal is to preserve the safety and stability of our communities for all residents,” said Wallace.

However, despite the efforts of the police, business owners and operators in the area say they are struggling under the curfews.

A resident who identified herself as Sherine said she operates a wholesale supermarket in the community that has seen a noticeable drop in sales since the start of the curfews.

She stated that, normally, she would end her business day by 10:00 pm, but now she is forced to close her doors by 6:00 pm.

“Sales are low, low, low. The place just gets lonely after six o’clock because everybody gone home,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are the three fastest times of the week for business — mostly Saturdays and Fridays — but I have to close up by 6:00 pm. Everybody gone home, and passersby can’t get to come and buy because they gone home already,” said Sherine.

She stated that, on some days, she will try to stay open a little later than 6:00 pm for residents who are on their way home and might want to purchase items. However, as soon as the police enter the community she has to close her wholesale supermarket.

“It is frustrating to have a business where you can’t sell. They are tampering with the business people hard,” she said.

Sherine stated that she has lived in Baileys Vale for more than 10 years, and this is the first time she has heard any reports of criminal activity in the area. She also complained about the lack of communication between residents and the police.

“You’re supposed to come and inform the business people that you are going to have a curfew. They don’t do that; we only hear from the passersby. They have only come here one time to say it — and that was when it just began — and from that, every weekend is curfew for about a month or two months now. This is like when coronavirus did a gwaan and we have to lock up and lock in. It’s frustrating bad,” she added.

A jerk food vendor said he has also been forced to change his working hours due to the curfew, and business has not been the same.

“I don’t have any other work — this is what I do from Wednesday go straight back through Sunday — and it is nearly two months’ worth of curfew. They come and take me off the road with six chickens — that is 24 pieces — and a whole heap of neck and gizzard; I had to carry them in. I came back out again and they took me up with four more chickens; I had to carry them in same way. And they don’t stop taking me up. I have to come out because people look for me every week, right here,” he said.

“It is in the nighttime my thing really works and [so] I have to try and come out by 12 noon, and by 6:00 pm I have to leave the road with meat same way so it is mashing me up. I can’t pay my bills and I can’t pay my pardner and other things. It a mash me up,” he stressed.

The jerk vendor shared that previously, business was decent because community members would stop by at nights to get their jerk chicken, listen music and relax — especially on the weekends. However, now he said it is a ghost town any time after 6:00 pm.

“I can’t even pay the chicken people who I take chicken from.

“I don’t see the reason [for the security measure]. It is time to lift this [curfew] because I don’t see anything happening. I don’t see any yellow tape, nuh gunshot nah lick, nobody nah dead, so me nuh see why,” he said.

Residents of Baileys Vale, St Mary, are crying out for relief, citing unlivable circumstances under curfews that are taking a toll on daily life and businesses in the area. Photo: Garfield Robinson

WALLACE… these curfews are not designed to inconvenience law-abiding citizens but to send a strong message to those intent on undermining the peace and security of the St Mary Police Division (Photo: Ingrid Henry)

Police in St Mary conduct a targeted operation on February 10, 2025 on the Prospect main road. The operation focused on wantd persons, illegal drugs, contraband, and traffic violations. (Photo: JCF)

A police team is seen with a motorist during a series of operations in St Mary on April 9, 2025, targeting areas such as Port Maria and Oracabessa. (Photo: JCF)