Nagra Plunkett and Monique Hepburn, Staff Reporters
WESTERN BUREAU:
RESIDENTS OF Granville in St. James are expressing renewed confidence in the police following Saturday's massive raid in the community in which 15 men, nine of whom have since been released, were detained.
"The community is much happier and people are coming back on the streets since the arrests," said Michael Troupe, councillor for the area. "They have restored confidence in the security forces. I want to commend the police and ask that they continue because there are more of them (wrongdoers) to be flushed out."
RECOVERED FIREARMS, ARMS
The joint police/military operation targeted the neighbourhoods of Fuller and Clark's Land and two illegal firearms and six rounds of ammunition were recovered.
A 15-year-old girl missing from the Granville Place of Safety in Trelawny two weeks ago was also found with one of the detainees.
According to Sergeant Paul Bernard, acting divisional detective inspector at the St. James Police Division, the six men are members of rival gangs that operate out of the Fuller and Retirement areas. Investigators held two others in subsequent
incidents.
"In the past month, we boosted our investigative capacity at the Granville Police Station and that has seen a marked decrease in serious crimes, especially shootings and robberies in that area," Sgt. Bernard added.
The operation came on the heels of a recent meeting at the St. James Parish Council to source solutions to deal with the parish's escalating crime problem.
SPIRIT OF PATRIOTISM
Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Noel Donaldson, convened the forum which was attended by National Security Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips.
"I want to invoke the spirit of patriotism in the people of Montego Bay," Assistant Commissioner of Police Keith 'Trinity' Gardner said during the discussion. "Too often, the people of the community delegate the job of law enforcement strictly to the police. No police force is going to solve the crime problem unless the people are for it.
"I am here to rebuild the bridges of trust that have been destroyed. The strategies I will not divulge here ... When all is said and done, more will be done than said. This is my promise. This is my pledge."
The parish of St. James has seen an increase in the number of murders and shootings over the corresponding period last year.
To date, 53 murders have been committed in the parish, compared to 39 for the same time in 2004.
