Glenroy Sinclair and Mark Beckford, Gleaner Reporters
Left: Rev. Leroy Campbell, pastor of the Grace Mineral Heights Baptist Church in Bucks Commons, gesticulates as he emphasises the poverty and social conditions in the community.
Center:
President of the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce, Aldo Brown. Right: Head of the Clarendon Police Division, Superintendent Derrick 'Cowboy' Knight, talks about the crime problem in the parish. - PHOTOS BY NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
MORE THAN one year ago, the commercial district of May Pen in Clarendon was stunned by the double murder of businessmen Maurice Azan and his stepson, Lloyd Phang.
Violence in the parish, located in Jamaica's south-central region, has continued since.
Three weeks ago, there was another shocking incident in which gunmen shot and killed a 57-year-old deacon, Winston Morgan, and injured pastor Evelyn Wilson, 53. The shooting took place along the desolate Coast Road, near the Manchester border.
CRIME EXPLODED
Crime has exploded during the past five years in Clarendon, a sugar belt parish with a population of over 237,000. At least 43 persons have been murdered there since the start of 2006, two more than the same period last year.
In 2005, police say there were 99 reported cases of homicides; the previous year it was 93.
"We have a number of concerns and challenges in the Clarendon Police Division. We are policing over 17 economically-challenged communities which are informal settlements. There is no proper road system, lighting is almost non-existent and persons are challenged as it relates to illiteracy," head of the division, Superintendent Derrick Knight, told The Gleaner in an interview last week.
Popularly known as 'Cowboy', the sturdy Knight said poverty is rampant in these areas and many persons find it difficult to send their children to school. He said the housing in many communities is inadequate.
Superintendent Knight told The Gleaner that the problem areas in Clarendon are May Pen, which is home to approximately 57,400 residents; Palmer's Cross, which has a population of 6,500 people; Bucks Common where over 6,000 people reside; and the Sevens Road/Farm Pen area where another 4,600 people live.
"Most of the crimes in the division are committed between 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. under the cover of darkness," Superintendent Knight explained. "There is a recent case of a murder in Palmer's Cross where the police were about a chain away and yet a man was killed inside a yard, because the place was too dark for the police to see anything."
DRUG-RELATED INCIDENTS
Superintendent Knight said he was concerned about the Gimme-Me-Bit community and drug-related incidents, especially at the old Vernamfield airstrip, where up to recently the police said they got reports that a plane on a drug mission had landed.
Mr. Knight said he has also been keeping a 24-hour watch on the fishing village of Rocky Point where it is alleged that there is a thriving drug/gun trade involving Jamaicans and Haitians.
Speaking with The Gleaner last Thursday, Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas said he has a special plan for Clarendon. He intends to increase the number of police personnel in that division.
He said the shortage of equipment was not unique to Clarendon, but in the meantime the parish is being assisted by support units from outside the division.
"Clarendon is one of those parishes that are experiencing difficulty with itinerant criminals, crossing over from St. Catherine," Mr. Thomas explained.
DRUG CULTURE
He added that Clarendon has a drug culture, and in some towns and districts flour is being sold for cocaine. According to the police, when this happens, it often results in bloodshed.
Aldo Brown, president of the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce, argued that the crime rate in the parish was far too high and this is making people uncomfortable and worried.
"Business people are concerned, especially about the high cost private security is now costing them," said Mr. Brown. The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce head believes that the emergence of informal settlements has impacted on crime in the parish.
"The main item on our agenda this year is to advocate against the increase of squatter settlements, because most times this is where the police go looking for the perpetrators of serious crimes. This type of indiscipline is really one of the serious contributing factors towards crime," said Mr. Brown.
It is believed that most of the criminals are from informal settlements. Apart from being settled illegally, Mr. Brown said these communities have social problems including lack of proper parental guidance, high unemployment and illiteracy.
"It affects you and it affects me, because take for example our utility costs, these informal communities they basically don't pay water and light bills," he said. "At the end of the day the utility companies say they not making enough money and they must increase the cost."
Rev. Leroy Campbell, pastor of the Grace Mineral Heights Baptist Church, said his church has incorporated residents from some of these depressed communities into its outreach programmes.
"We operate a basic school in the Bucks Common area and most of the people cannot afford to pay the school fee, so the church has to help them out. We also run a food programme where over 120 persons are given food packages at least once per month," said Rev. Campbell.
The church also operates a literacy and CXC revison class, as well as counselling. He described living conditions in sections of Bucks Common as shabby and in need of significant improvement.
"Some people are without running water, toilet and electricity. Most times when you pass through the community, children are seen during school hours. Their reason for not going to school is that they have no lunch money," said Rev. Campbell. The pastor supports Superintendent Knight's view that several houses are of sub-standard quality, barely providing shelter.
Despite the church intervention programmes, Rev. Campbell said he has observed fewer young people attending church. He attributes violence in the parish to high unemployment, and the unprotected Rocky Point coastline where he believes drugs are coming through.
