News

Hanover not safe anymore

HANOVER HAS BEEN described as one of the safest parishes in Jamaica but that image is slowly changing for the worse with the increasing number of murders since the start of the year.

According to police, criminals from neighbouring parishes have been using the parish as a haven for their criminal activities.

The parish, which registered one of the lowest crime rates last year, has already recorded 13 murders. "Last year, we had the lowest crime rate. We had 14 murders for the entire year," Deputy Superintendent Paul Stanton in charge of the Hanover Division told THE STAR.

DSP Stanton said the criminals have been trailing people with whom they have issues to Hanover. "Most of the murder cases involve people from other parishes who have come into the parish to settle their differences," he said.

Several murders

Since the start of the year, several murders have occurred including two double murders, and none of the victims are from the parish. In the first double murder, which occurred in early February, an Haitian man and a resident of St. James were killed on a construction site.

Last Tuesday, two men, also from St. James, were found dead in a black Nissan Pick-up along the Shettlewood main road in Ramble, Hanover. Despite the fact that the criminal activity is migratory, residents say the present crime rate is far too high.

DSP Stanton said the police will be implementing several new strategies to curtail the movement of criminals in the parish. "One of the things that you will see that will be more visible are more border checks. We will be conducting more checks to curtail the illegal activity," he said.

The police are also seeking to strengthen their relationship with the residents so they will contact them to ensure that when they see something they will report it to the police. "We are just trying to get all the stakeholders involved in the fight against crime," he said.