THE EXPLOSION of violent crime in the residential area of Portmore has thrown a cloud over the 'Sunshine City' in recent weeks.
There have been at least eight murders in the last two weeks alone.
"The crime that is now taking place is not gang-related. You cannot pinpoint it to a specific area. We believe that some of the crimes are committed by people who come from outside of the area, and who leave after committing the crime," Detective Sergeant Everett Taylor of the Portmore C.I.B, said.
"Some of the communities are hard to police because of the different pathways which are extremely dangerous at nights, especially when we get calls and have to check out these dark pathways. Further, there are often no street signs, or the houses are not properly numbered so it is difficult to respond to a distress call," he added.
Taylor also suggested that the Portmore area was sometimes used as an option for "dangerous criminals who are trying to elude the police of the Corporate Area".
"We don't know them as such, and they might be coming over here to hide out but we're doing the best we can," he said.
There have been 45 murders in the St. Catherine South division which includes Old Harbour, Central Village and Portmore - since the start of the year. Further, there have been 150 robberies including three major heists at the Portmore Plaza.
Taylor also identified several crack cocaine drug dens in communities where small-time peddlers conduct business in 'Waterford, Greater Portmore, Braeton and Bridgeport' as a cause for concern.
"It is not anything we can't manage, we are not alarmed, and we've stepped up patrols at the Portmore Mall. We just need to identify the perpetrators of these crimes but sometimes members of the community are tight-lipped, so we're appealing to the citizens to come forward with valuable information to apprehend these criminals before they harm innocent people," Detective Taylor said.
Below is a rundown of the murders over the last two weeks.
On August 18th, Andrew Brown was shot and killed, and on August 22, the body of security guard Christopher Lee was discovered at the Jamaica Livestock Hatchery in Cumberland.
On August 24, Dwayne Murdock, a district constable was shot 15 times outside his home in Westmeade, and a few hours later, Paul Wright was slain by gunmen while sitting in his car in Hellshire. On August 26, Joseph Haber was chopped to death and his firearm stolen after he had gone bird-shooting in the Dyke Road area. On September 1, Lloyd Barnett was shot outside the Cactus night-club after an engaging in an argument with a group of men.
A 47 year-old racehorse groom, Linton Ellis, was mowed down by gunmen on Portmore Lane on the same day. On September 3, Ruel Anderson was shot and killed by unknown assailants in Waterford.
