Barbara Gayle & Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporters

Left: Forty-four-year-old Serita Hamilton is supported by her neighbours in Rockfort after coming home and finding her house burned down on Wednesday, November 1, 2006. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer   Right: Winsome Dennis (centre), the mother of 20-year-old Candice Williams whose body was found in a pit on June 28, 2006, is being consoled by persons at the scene in Taylor Land, Bull Bay, St. Andrew. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

After a runaway murder toll in 2005 which saw a record 1,671 homicides, commentators in various quarters held out little hope of things getting better in 2006.

But they did.

Despite the perennial woes of immobility and a shortage of critical resources, the police force battled hard in 2006 to rein in the spate of violent crimes, claiming a 22 per cent decline in homicides (just over 1,300 persons were killed).

And though top cop Lucius Thomas wasn't shy in declaring their success, he acknowledged that the war on crime was far from over.

"To date we have seen a 22 per cent reduction in homicides, but I still emphasise that one murder is one murder too many," said Thomas.

In spite of the lack of resources in some critical areas, Com- missioner Thomas said the high motivation level of the security forces and assistance from law-abiding citizens, especially those who cooperated and gave intelligence, had resulted in significant gains, with the removal of some critical players from the crime front.

Zekes Convicted

In April, a jury convicted Donald 'Zekes' Phipps, 49, the Matthews Lane strongman, of double murder, sending a clear message that no don is above the law.

Justice Horace Marsh sentenced Phipps to life imprisonment and ordered that he serve 30 years before being eligible for parole. Considering his failing health, Phipps is likely to die in prison if his appeal is thrown out.

During the trial, heavily armed soldiers and police swarmed the precincts of the Home Circuit Court, King Street, downtown Kingston, daily to thwart any threat to public order.

Phipps was convicted of murdering Rodney Leroy Farquharson and Dayton 'Scotbrite' Williams, both of Bayshore Park, east Kingston. Their burnt bodies, with gunshot wounds, were found on April 15, 2005, in an unfenced lot on Rose Lane, downtown Kingston.

Richie Pooh sentenced

Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe on July 22 sentenced Kevin Tyndale, 32, nicknamed 'Richie Pooh', a former member of the Gideon Warriors gang, to 12 years' imprisonment for wounding with intent.

Tyndale, who has been serving a 30-year prison sentence since September 2005 for shooting and wounding a civilian during a robbery in Papine, had pleaded guilty in July in the Gun Court to illegal possession of firearm, shooting with intent and wounding with intent. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment each on the other charges. The sentences are to run concurrently.

He had pleaded guilty to being involved in an incident in Papine, St. Andrew, in February 2004, in which a policeman was shot in the leg. Tyndale was also sentenced in February to life imprisonment and ordered to serve 35 years before being eligible for parole, following his conviction for murdering taxi driver Jarvis Lobban who was shot dead on August 14, 2003 at a playing field in Mud Town, near Gordon Town, St. Andrew.

'Tony' Welsh in custody

People's National Party (PNP) activist Milton 'Tony' Welsh is in custody awaiting retrial next year for the murder of 21-year-old Damion Hussey, of Golden Spring, St. Andrew, on the evening of January 15.

Welsh, a farmer and contractor of Brandon Hill, St. Andrew, was tried in October, but the 12-member jury failed to arrive at a unanimous verdict.

The police had reported that men who were travelling in a bus were returning from a PNP rally for the official launch of the presidential campaign for Security Minister Peter Phillips. When the motorcade reached Golden Spring, stones were thrown at the bus. Men from the bus came off to inquire who was stoning the bus. Hussey came out of his house to enquire what was happening in his yard and was fatally stabbed.

Migratory criminals

While the security forces were able to reduce the horrifying murder rate in the Corporate Area, the criminals 'moved house' to western and central Jamaica, where a significant number of killings were reported.

"My concerns really are the divisions outside of the Corporate Area such as St. James, Clarendon and Westmoreland," said

Commissioner Thomas, who has attributed the killings to itinerant criminals crossing borders and forging links with local gangs.

The St. James lawmen hardly investigated one murder scene before other incidents broke out, especially in the web of squatter communities surrounding Montego Bay. Over 180 persons were killed in the division, with almost 120 murdered in the constituency of North West St. James alone.

In one incident, a family of four was wiped out, and three other relatives were also shot and injured during the brutal attack.

According to a recent study, 10 members of the police force were among the over 1,250 murders reported. Other victims included Ambassador Peter King, Jamaica's long-time trade envoy, and more than 130 women and several children.

Not Sacred Ground

In 2006, criminals showed no regard for the Church. In perhaps one of the more gruesome and bewildering examples, Vilma Mais was robbed and her throat slashed on the compound of the Stella Maris Church in upper St. Andrew.

Father Richard Johnson was also killed at the rectory of the St. Judes Anglican Church.

There were also reports of a man killed on church premises in Linstead, St. Catherine. The police also reported midyear that a pastor and deacon were shot by gunmen in Clarendon. The pastor later died while receiving medical attention.

And Trevor Berbick, former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, also perished violently. His body was found on a church compound in Norwich district, Portland.

Guns & Deportees

The gun was the most popular murder weapon, and up to the end of November, the police had seized 583 illegal firearms, which is 15 fewer than the number seized for the corresponding period the previous year.

A recent study commissioned by the Government pointed to a link between deportees and the upsurge in gang violence, extortion and drug-related murders. The document showed that between 1990-2005, a total of 33,268 persons have been deported here.

Illegal Drugs

Head of the Narcotics Division, Senior Superintendent Carlton Wilson, described 2006 as a tremendous success in the fight against the illegal drug trade. With assistance from several overseas law enforcement agencies, the narcotics police were able to a put a dent in the multimillion-dollar cocaine trade.

"This year, we seized more ganja and destroyed more hectares," said SSP Wilson.

He said solid intelligence led them to several major busts in which more than 2,000 pounds of ganja were seized on a number of occasions. According to SSP Wilson, next year he plans to request more assistance from Jamaica Defence Force with a view to reduced the increased ganja production.

Traffic Accidents

"In the last three months of the year, we have seen a slowing down in the rate of accidents. This was due to the increase of our presence at some critical location and we got some good results," said Senior Superintendent Ealan Powell, head of the Traffic Division.

Though the more than 300 persons perished in motor vehicle accidents in 2006, SSP Powell stressed that the trends were an improvement over three years ago.