By Ainsley Walters, Staff Reporter
CRISS-CROSSED with a web of history going back to the earliest days of Jamaica's European occupation, Spanish Town now has a crime rate rivalling troubled police divisions in the Corporate Area.
Leading up to last October's General Election, tension was high in and around the old capital. Even during 'peace time', some areas remained under constant threat of flare-ups.
It is within such an environment that Jeffrey Smith, managing director of Shalk Security Limited, decided to establish what he described as Spanish Town's "eyes and ears", adding an electronic security side to his business two years ago.
"Electronic security really kicked off within the last five to six years," said Smith, who started Shalk 13 years ago, offering the standard armed and unarmed guard services.
"During the early 1990s, people never really paid it much mind but now the demand is really great," he added.
However, capital outlay to modernise was demanding on the business.
"It was a significant investment," noted Basil Reece, the company's marketing consultant. "We now have a central monitoring unit and we're pushing to get more people on it, offering our panic alarm system free of cost."
Operating out of its Hampton Green base, Shalk has response stations at Greendale and Linstead, with armed security officers on stand-by.
"We're here to help develop the community," said Smith, pointing out that his company was the first to establish a central station for electronic security in Spanish Town.
"There are other companies around but those are mainly response units with bases in Kingston," he said, referring to bigger players in the industry. "We are Spanish Town's personal electronic security company."
Similar to most small companies, referrals and word of mouth help woo new business. The police also, Smith said, direct potential clients to Shalk.
"We have a good relationship with the police," he noted. "We get a lot of police recommendations."
With a staff of approximately 40 catering to about 100 commercial and residential clients, Shalk is eyeing territory along the North Coast in an expansion bid, steering clear of Kingston and St. Andrew.
"We can't compete with the bigger companies there so we're heading the other way, trying to go where those guys aren't."
As for Spanish Town, Smith, born and raised in the old capital, said his company is there to stay. An administrative wing is being added to their office at Hampton Drive.
"We want to change the image of Spanish Town as a crime-infested town," Reece said. Improved security is one of the critical requirements to achieve that goal.
