The taming of Sav's crime monster

We are showing an improvement in all areas - police

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

In 2013, Westmoreland was under the gun, recording some 89 murders. The notorious Alma gang, which targeted several townships, including the parish capital, Savanna-la-Mar, was blamed for almost 50 per cent of the killings.

In September, frustrated by the ongoing criminal mayhem, Savanna-la-Mar's mayor, Bertel Moore, instructed the police to 'shoot first' in confrontations with gangsters, a directive which infuriated civil society and prompted calls for his resignation.

Fast forward to 2014, the top leadership of the Alma gang has been wiped out in confrontations with the police, major crimes are trending down and, from a law enforcement perspective; the capital is now a much safer place.

"Last year, we ended up with 89 murders and, if one gang was responsible for, say, half of it, that is very significant," said Deputy Superintendent Rohan McIntyre, of the Westmoreland police division, while addressing a recent Gleaner's State of the Capital Editors' Forum, in Savanna-la-Mar.

"Since the start of this year, we are showing an improvement in all areas of major crimes ... . Last year at this time, we had 103 major crimes, and this year, we are down to 83," the lawman added.

However, wary of the potential threat posed by the remnants of the Alma gang and other criminal outfits such as the Savanna-la-Mar-based Bobo and Hot Roses gangs, the police are now busy implementing social intervention programmes to combat crime.

"Once the communities buy into our social intervention programmes, we should see an even greater reduction in criminal activities," said McIntyre. "We know that there are some youngsters out there calling themselves young Malta (the alias of deceased Alma gang leader Taniel Haughton) and we cannot allow them to continue their lives with that mindset."

With the influence of the Alma gang steadily decreasing, a new monster has appeared on the police's radar in the form of the infamous 'lotto scam,' which has stretched its nefarious tentacles over from St James.

"They are now present in Savanna-la-Mar, Petersfield and Bethel Town," said McIntyre, "Each scammer feels he needs a gun to protect himself because they are always trying to rob each other. Having formed themselves into gangs, they are now importing their cronies from Montego Bay to help protect their turf."

McIntyre said the migrating criminal scammers were proving to be a headache to the police.

"The outsiders are not known ... . So they will come in and commit crimes and then leave," the lawman said. "That is why some of the crimes being committed are so hard to solve."