‘Police will be out in full force’
THE police are warning the public that firearms will not be allowed inside polling stations today during the general election, and encouraged voters, especially, to be on their best behaviour.
Senior Superintendent of Police Michael Bailey of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Strategic Operations Department at police headquarters in St Andrew told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday afternoon that it was important for the public to give full cooperation to the police and other election day workers to ensure a smooth process throughout the day.
“We are reminding the public, and especially licensed firearm holders, that they cannot take any firearms to polling stations. We are reminding the public that they need to follow the instructions of the election workers including the police. They will enforce queues. There should be no gathering before or after voting within the precincts of polling stations. A distance of at least 100 metres away from polling stations should be maintained,” Bailey said, as he appealed for the public’s cooperation.
“We are just asking for a full cooperation. The police will be out in full force and once people comply with the instructions and stay away from intimidation and violence, we should have a smooth day. We have the entire island to secure. We will try to ensure election workers get to work safely and back from the polling stations and that the ballot boxes are safely escorted to counting stations,” SSP Bailey said.
He said that the police are more prepared today to handle the election than they were during past elections in 2020 and 2016.
“We actually started pre-deployment to sweep the grounds [from Tuesday]. We are sending out advisories and reminders to the public and we will be fully deployed starting at 4:00 am [today]. The public can expect the police to be at every single polling location, polling station, major thoroughfares, all volatile areas. There will also be increased security in specialist constituencies.”
This file photo shows police on duty during a previous parliamentary election.
