The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) will continue to carry out effective strategies to protect citizens in St. James, this year.

In an interview with the Western Mirror, Eron Samuels, superintendent of police in charge of operations for the St. James division, says the JCF has been successful in implementing strategies last year, which saw a reduction in murder.

“We have been seeing where the number of murders has been going down (last year). We had our Operation Relentless II, Operation Restore Paradise and the SOE that gave the last bit of push to keep the number going in the right direction.”

Samuels reported that because of Operation Restore Paradise, there has been a drastic reduction in robberies.

The Restore Paradise Operations involves various enforcement entities working together to maintain law and order in Montego Bay. This includes issues such as vending, public transportation, solid waste, fire safety and health.

These breakthroughs came in December, and have resulted in persons being arrested who are now in custody or before the courts.

In addition, the decrease in crime is also due to the increase in foot deployment of officers as well as joint military operations. Similarly, the JCF aims to strengthen their relationship with the public through different initiatives.

Superintendent Samuels noted, “We have our activities being done right across the division, we have the school programme projects, neighborhood watches, youth programmes. We also have some interactive activities we’re looking to do with the public, (such as) a virtual town hall.”

Additionally, the Jamaica Constabulary Force will increase its sporting programmes. They will also continue executing projects such as the Mount Salem and Granville exercise programme and the Flanker’s football, netball and domino competitions.

Samuels hopes persons will come on board and help plan these functions for the upcoming year. This includes a project he described as a ‘community link-up’ which will see citizens and the police having a social get together. On this note, the superintendent reiterated that he wants more people to work with the police this upcoming year.

“We (the JCF) cannot police this municipality by ourselves. Based on the number of murders we have within the city, we are at a point where we have to do something about it and it cannot be done by the police alone. Residents should understand they can stand to earn a lot more from tourism revenue and business revenue if we try to get this crime situation under control. It is in everybody’s best interest for us to work together,” he concluded.

Yanique Cole and her family in Top Land, Chester Castle, Hanover are anxious to have things return to normal, as a throng, some with pickaxes, machetes and other implements, lured by the prospects of unearthing gold, continue to destroy their freshly dug pit for the past week.

People from surrounding districts and other parishes have also descended on the Top Land property hoping to secure a portion of the precious metal, despite the government’s Geology and Mines Division advising that what has been unearthed is in fact Pyrite otherwise called “Fool’s Gold”.

Reports are that Cole, whose family had employed the services of a back hoe to dig a septic pit last Tuesday;  were surprised, when after digging for a while they unearthed some blue coloured soil and upon further investigation discovered that something sparkled in the soil, which looked very much like gold.

It was then that word spread and people began to flood the area, with the numbers increasing daily. Despite the word from the geology division, the people are still not convinced that what is being dug up is not gold.    The family argues that the work has been set back as while they want to continue to dig the pit to be connected to the toilet in the house; their work has been hampered by the ever growing crowd.

“A real gold dis nobody can tell me nutten” was the response of one man.  One woman who had gathered what she claimed to be good quantity said she had already secured a buyer and was hoping to make some good money.

The family has however accepted the fact that what they have discovered may not be the real deal after carrying out their own, unscientific tests and in the meantime is hoping that the people will let up so they can have the pit covered and get on with their lives.

Although its chief uses are in the preparation of sulfuric acid, sulfur trioxide, and sulfites, sulfur dioxide, Pyrite is also used as a disinfectant, a refrigerant, a reducing agent, a bleach, and a food preservative, especially in dried fruits.

Justices of the Peace (JPs) have been urged to work more closely with the police to help curb crime and violence.

Speaking at a commissioning ceremony for 43 new JPs for St. James at the Holiday Inn Resort in Rose Hall last Thursday, Minister of Justice, Delroy Chuck, noted that the “rights and freedoms of many of our citizens in many communities are being pushed over… by violence producers, who believe that because they have guns they can dictate to communities, and that is something we have to take up and face head-on”.

“Not only must you ensure that justice is done across many communities but you must now work very closely with other stakeholders, especially the police, in ensuring that we have peace across every neighbourhood and community across Jamaica,” Mr. Chuck said.

He encouraged the JPs to attach themselves to one of the many police stations across Jamaica to initiate and maintain community-police management groups.

“Where you know of abuses, where you know of criminality, corruption, indiscipline, disorder and lawlessness, bring it to the attention of the police. Do not try to solve it, because that is police work,” he urged.

Noting that JPs have a responsibility to help in the governance of the country, Minister Chuck urged the 43 newly minted officers for St. James to strive to stamp their mark on society by volunteering their service in areas where they can make a difference.

“I want to emphasize to every single one of you that now that you have the acronym JP behind your name, let it mean something… make a difference. Not only within yourself, your family, your community but, if possible, to this nation. You have experience, you have many skills. You have an imagination that you have not utilised so far. Utilise that imagination to think of what you can do and what Jamaica can become if each of us plays our part,” he implored.

He also reminded them that in their capacity as JPs, it is imperative that emphasis be placed on ensuring that justice and peace are properly pursued.

In his charge to the appointees, Custos of St James, Bishop Conrad Pitkin, urged the new JPs to promote good governance and citizenship as well as to be positive role models in their communities.

The National Works Agency is installing traffic lights at four locations in Montego Bay, St. James, to alleviate traffic flows in some areas of the city.

Janel Ricketts, Community Relations Officer for the National Works Agency Western region, says these new traffic lights will be located in areas that were once used to bypass the traffic on main roads, but have now become congested as well.

The traffic lights will be at the intersections of Felicity and Albion roads, Felicity and Salt Spring roads, Vernon’s Drive and Salt Spring Road intersection and at Vernon’s Avenue and Mount Salem.

Ricketts says the NWA started this project in November 2022, and currently, the mast arms have been placed at these locations, and the wiring of traffic lights is being done. A mast arm is a horizontal arm that attaches the light fixture or traffic signal fixtures to the streetlight pole or traffic signal pole.

This project, estimated to cost $66 million JMD, is expected to be completed in early 2023. Miss Ricketts says the NWA has also undertaken other projects to alleviate the traffic in Montego Bay until the Montego Bay bypass is completed.

“In the interim, the NWA has upgraded some of the minor roads, resurfacing (roads) and constructing curve walls along several roads.” Some of these include Westgate Hills and Mount Salem roads, Felicity Crescent and Vernon’s Drive. She says the NWA is aware of problems with some traffic lights in Montego Bay, noting various issues.

“There are various reasons why traffic lights may be out, so it’s not the same for each (traffic light). For example, sometimes they have an electrical or hardware issue.”

She says a hardware issue occurs when a damaged light component may need rewiring, or getting a part for the traffic light replaced or an issue with the control box.

Miss Ricketts says that is one of the reasons the traffic light at the entrance of Flankers was out.

“Some weeks ago, by the Flankers stoplight, we had a hardware issue which was caused by a motor vehicle accident that extensively damaged the control box. As a result, that light was down for a while, and we had to source that box from overseas”.

As a result, she said the timeline to fix these traffic lights is different. It depends on the issue the traffic light has and is not caused by getting approved, as these issues are given priority because of safety concerns.

“If it’s an electrical problem, for example, an electrical short circuit, it would be easier to fix than a damaged part that is unavailable locally.” She says there are times when the agency’s signal technician depending on the situation, fixes the traffic light temporarily until a permanent solution is available.

She also explains that when the electricity is gone, this affects the traffic lights, resulting in the NWA collaborating with the Jamaica Power Service (JPS) to restore power to the signals.

Despite the problems, she emphasized that motorists can prevent traffic lights from being inoperable if they drive slower on the road and attributes speeding as well as disobedience of the traffic light as the main reasons that the traffic signals are ineffective in Montego Bay.

The NWA Western Region head says the agency is aware that the traffic light located at the Westgate Shopping Centre on Barnett Street, is causing traffic issues and is dealing with the matter

The authorities have put to rest questions in some quarters as to the observation of this year’s Christmas and New Year’s Christmas holidays.

A release from the Ministry of Labour states that the Holiday (Public General) Act provides that whenever Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, then Monday (December 26) and Tuesday (December 27) are to be observed as Public General Holidays.

Consequently, the public is being advised that as Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, Monday, December 26, 2022, and Tuesday, December 27, 2022, will be observed as Public General Holidays.

Similarly, as New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, Monday, January 2, 2022, will be observed as a Public General Holiday.