KINGSTON, Jamaica — Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake says the hurricane preparedness plan of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), has been fully activated and members will be deployed to protect critical infrastructure as Jamaicans continue to brace for the possible impact of Tropical Storm Melissa which currently sits off the country’s south eastern coast.

“Our operational response which includes our quick response, our highway patrol and mobile units are briefed and ready for deployment. We have reviewed and updated our shelter security plans,” Blake told a Jamaica House media briefing on Friday.

“We also have an operational management team specifically looking at the Corporate Area given the number of vital infrastructure that exist there,” he added.

Jamaica’s top cop said the JCF’s highway patrol has been dispatched to monitor key arterial routes and flood-prone corridors, while “mobile patrols will maintain security in our business and residential districts and the quick response unit stands ready to support evacuation, rescue and post-impact security”.

Blake said the JCF will coordinate with the Jamaica Defence Force for joint monitoring of critical infrastructure including Petrojam, airports and seaports, hospitals and major medical facilities, the business districts and financial hubs, the courts, correctional facilities and all government offices. The major road networks and bridges will also be monitored, he said.

-Lynford Simpson