MoBay Chamber looks to security summit for answers to crime
Published:Tuesday | April 5, 2022 | 12:07 AM
WITH OVER 300 cases of murders committed in Jamaica between January and March 20, this year, stakeholders in the Montego Bay business community say they have had enough and will be using the platform of a security summit towards taking action in solving crime and violence.
“It is action time for us, not time for more talks,”said Janet Silvera, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “For us as a nation to truly be free, we need to be able to walk our streets, sleep in our beds, go to school, sit in our living room, and comb our hair without fear of our lives being prematurely taken from us.
“And this freedom, this security, needs to be for all citizens of Jamaica, no matter our skin colour or financial status.”
She was speaking at Thursday’s launch of a security summit, held at the Grand-A View Hotel in Montego Bay. The summit is set for April 6 and 7 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James, where there have been 57 recorded cases of murder since January.
The Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry is hosting the summit, which will be held under the theme ‘Collective Security – Unity in Action’ and will feature, among other things, panel discussions and presentations from several high-level security and crime-prevention experts to include testimonials and best practices from the governments of the Dominican Republic and Panama.
“This security summit is to highlight the importance of all of us working together to guarantee the safety and security of all Jamaica – young and old, rich and poor – to break down the invisible walls that exist between our ‘uptown’ and ‘downtown’ communities,” said Silvera.
“For persons living on the other side of the wall, to share with us their version of the story. To share with us their lives, their struggles and how sons and sometimes daughters fall prey to being recruited in gangs and engaging in acts of criminality,” she stated.
According to Silvera, there have been countless crime and security summits in the past, but things, for the most part, remain the same or have taken on renewed momentum in the wrong directions.
She noted that while there have been several attempts by the Government, using the states of emergency (SOE)and zones of special operations, Jamaica and its citizens remain exposed. “Haven’t we had millions of talks on how to solve crime? Haven’t we had dozens of social interventions that don’t work? Haven’t we had SOEs, ZOSOs, yet we are still not secure?” Silvera noted.
Since 2018, the Andrew Holness-led Government has declared several SOEs, covering seven police divisions, including St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Andrew South, Kingston West, Kingston Central, and Kingston East.
However, they have also expired by way of a court ruling, and most recently, the failure of the Government to get the support from one opposition senator to extend the November 14 SOEs. All zones of special operations since 2017 are still operational, with Savanna-la-Mar North being the latest addition.