Mon | Sep 25, 2023

Be on the alert!

Westmoreland police urge residents to be vigilant against criminals as they access public Wi-Fi

Published:Monday | May 2, 2022 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
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Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs, acting head of the Westmoreland Police Division.
Herbert McKenis
Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs, acting head of the Westmoreland Police Division.
Daniel Dawes (left), chief executive officer at the Universal Service Fund, and Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs, acting head of the Westmoreland Police Division, stand at the location of the Universal Service Fund/Digicel Savanna-la-Mar Public Wi-Fi si
Herbert McKenis
Daniel Dawes (left), chief executive officer at the Universal Service Fund, and Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs, acting head of the Westmoreland Police Division, stand at the location of the Universal Service Fund/Digicel Savanna-la-Mar Public Wi-Fi sign at Independence Park in Westmoreland.
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WESTERN BUREAU:

Senior Superintendent Wayne Josephs, acting head of the Westmoreland Police Division, has urged citizens of the parish to remain alert while accessing the free public Wi-Fi Internet service.

He said the provision of free Internet access, via Wi-Fi, will attract large gatherings and more people with ulterior motives that could result in loss of property, among other things, if users of the service are not mindful of their environment.

“It will also bring people into the community who might also be undesirable,” declared Josephs while speaking at Friday’s launch of the $20 million Universal Service Fund (USF), Savanna-la-Mar Public Wi-Fi access point at Independence Park.

“But I want to assure the citizens that the police are up to the task and we are committed to providing a safe environment,” Josephs promised.

His caution came as hundreds of residents in the parish are now benefiting from free high-speed Internet under the USF Community Wi-Fi Programme, in partnership with Digicel Jamaica.

Along with the public Wi-Fi in Savanna-la-Mar, residents in the inner-city community of Coke Street in northern Savanna-la-Mar, Bethel Town and Grange Hill are also enjoying free Internet. Several other communities, including Little London, Whitehouse, Whitehorn, and Friendship, are among those slated to benefit during the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

The police are also urging students, women and the elderly not to get bogged down in their smartphones and tablets while accessing the public Wi-Fi service to do their schoolwork and to access social-media platforms.

“I want the students and others to take your heads from out of your phones from time to time and scan your environment, because you might just be holding up your head at the time somebody is about to grab your phone or worse yet, somebody is trying to rob you,” advised Josephs.

In welcoming the initiative, he also admitted that with the increasing demand for Internet services, there will be a need for increased police presence, especially in the monitoring of undesirable people in the space.