Major crimes trending down in Westmoreland, but concerns remain

Western Bureau:

Despite the encouraging statistics showing most major crimes are on the decline in the parish, one senior police officer in Westmoreland is still concerned about the number of robberies and the increasing incidents of persons accessing electricity illegally.

“I am happy to report that the parish is seeing a reduction in all categories of serious crimes, with the exception of robberies,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Merna Ferguson-Campbell, while giving a report at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.

While murders have been seeing an encouraging decline over the comparative period last year, the police are concerned about the shift in murders from the traditional hotspots to other areas such as Bluefields.

For better management, the police have divided the parish into five zones: Zone One – Savanna-la-Mar and Whithorn; Zone Two – Frome and Morgan’s Bridge (The Grange Hill area); Zone Three – Darliston and Bethel Town; Zone Four – Negril and Little London; and Zone Five – Whitehouse and Bluefields.

Ferguson-Campbell oversees Zone One and Zone Two which were for years the areas of concern, but according to the senior officer, there is now a shift in concentration to Zone Four and Zone Five.

“We have restrategised and we are doing some work to stem those issues that have been popping up,” said Ferguson-Campbell. “Our investigations are advanced, and we are seeing a lot of gains.”

The police say they are also concerned with the proliferation of persons in rural communities who are accessing electricity illegally. In some cases, this has resulted in electrical short circuits, which have been blamed for destructive house fires in the parish.

Ferguson-Campbell is quite pleased with the progress being made in her zone, which has recorded just one murder to date this year. More citizens are said to be resorting to using the restorative justice system, for which the parish was recently recognised after placing second behind Kingston and St Andrew.