MINISTER of National Security Dr Horace Chang says that his ministry is evaluating the performance of the zones of special operations (ZOSOs), to determine when they have reached a stage of sustainability.

Dr Chang noted that the initial test of the success of the programme will be in terms of the two first announced zones — Mount Salem in St James and Denham Town in Kingston — both of which are already position and at the terminal “build” stage of the three-pronged “Clear, Hold and Build” ZOSO policy for crime reduction in volatile areas.

He said that with five years having passed since the programme was initiated in 2017, starting with these two communities, “it is an appropriate time to look at their achievements and the way forward”.

The minister was speaking in a debate in the House of Representatives Tuesday to determine whether or not to extend the lives of the seven current ZOSOs by another 60 days. He said that he hopes that legislation amending the current Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Act will be debated soon after the House of Representatives resumes after its Independence break.

Dr Chang told the House Tuesday that, in terms of the commitment to “Clear, Hold and Build” the communities, each phase is of similar importance. However, he said that the “build” theme is the key to success, and responsible for the uniting of efforts from the Government’s ministries, departments and agencies under a “whole-of-government” approach, to address different aspects of violence prevention and social intervention in some areas.

He said hat during the next 60 days of existence of the seven current ZOSOs, closer examination will have to be take of the oldest zones — Mount Salem and Denham Town — especially Mount Salem, as the next step in the development of the concept. The others — August Town and Greenwich Town (St Andrew), Norwood (St James), Parade Gardens (Kingston), as well as Savanna-la-Mar, the capital of Westmoreland — will continue their current “Clear” and “Hold” efforts.

Dr Chang said that there has been significant achievements with respect to the services deployed in the communities, and overall improvements in the communities safety and security environment which, he stated, is the ultimate objective.

“An evaluation of where they have reached in terms of their stage of sustainability will be done, and so we will take a close look at the Mount Salem area because the ultimate objective is not only to clear, hold and build, but to take the build phase to a stage where the outcomes of the activities will be sustainable under normal policing,” he stated.

He said that, so far, there has been a major reduction in all major crimes in these zones and that up to July 23, there had been no shootings reported in Parade Gardens and Norwood, and no murder reported in Parade Gardens.

Chang said that similar reductions were also reported in Mount Salem, Denham Town, Greenwich Town, August Town, Norwood and Savanna-la-Mar, which have reported up to a 64 per cent and 66 per cent reductions in crimes, respectively.

He said that as of July 23, all seven zones reported at least 48-55 per cent reduction in murders and shootings, respectively.

He said that, as a holistic approach, the Government will be looking, not only at policing activities, but also the quality of the services being provided for the communities.

“In a holistic approach, we have to look at how they have been served by the schools; where schools exist, particularly in infant and primary schools, to examine the work of the Social Development Commission and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the availability of access to health care in all the communities,” Dr Chang noted.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding said that the Opposition was supporting the extension, and looked forward to the ZOSO amendments legislation being brought to the House.

“So we no longer have to go through this particular ritual every 60 days, which takes up a significant amount of the House’s time, and is going to be replaced by a six-month cycle, which makes a lot more sense,” he added.