By John Myers, Jr., Freelance WriterCLARENDON:
ALTHOUGH THE crime rate in Clarendon remains lower than last year, citizens attending a public forum put on by the Clarendon Police Division in May Pen last week were urged to take a more proactive role in the fight against crime.
At the forum which was organised as part of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's (JCF) celebration of its 135th anniversary, Supt. Warren Clarke, head of the Clarendon police, implored the citizens to join in the fight against crime. He said in order for the police to effectively solve crime in the parish, persons who have information should come forward and tell the police.
"Crime and other problems of deviance cannot be solved by the police alone, but the help (must) come essentially from the public. You who will provide options for solutions," Supt. Clarke noted, adding that "45 per cent of the crimes (in the parish) for this year is unsolved and ...if you don't make the answers available, the monster is going to choke us."
However, some members of the audience were concerned with the issue of confidentiality and their own safety. They pointed out that persons are sometimes unwilling to divulge sensitive information to the police because they do not trust some members of the Force.
The Superintendent, however, sought to allay those fears, informing the gathering that in such situations persons should contact himself or any of his deputies. He also mentioned the witness protection programme.
According to statistics provided by the police, the parish has recorded 409 cases of criminal activities, compared with 459 for the same period last year.
Tony Smatt, a businessman and a member of the Police Civic Committee suggested that a special hotline could be set up to facilitate persons who may have valuable information for the police. He pointed out that sometimes when person with information call the police, officers are sometimes too busy to accommodate the caller. He said with such a system in place, this would facilitate the flow of information between citizens and the police which would help in solving crimes.
"I believe that Clarendon should set up, with the help of the business community, a hotline where people can call and tell what they know," Mr. Smatt said. He further suggested that the business community could assist with paying someone to operate the hotline if the police or the Government is unable to do so.
The problem of vending was also identified as a contributing factor to lawlessness, especially in the town of May Pen. But Supt. Clarke noted that this social problem cannot be solved until a suitable area is designated for vending activities.
"The first thing in the fight towards the vending problem is to ensure that there are suitable vending areas (which) ought to be a component of any kind of town planning. It is predominant everywhere and so when we provide suitable vending areas for the people, our conscience enable us to do our jobs." He said, "Once the vending area is established then we can more forthrightly clean the town."
