The lead story of THE PORTMORE STAR told of the impact of an age old problem in Jamaica.

Squatting and its continued high contribution to crime.

THE PORTMORE STAR's article reported that the high level of crime in the sunshine city was due to squatting. The article reported that a number of residents from a squatter community had been fingered in some murders which have occurred in Portmore.

The parish council all felt it was something that needed to be addressed before it got out of hand. Across the island in every parish a large number of crimes are being committed by people who hide in these communities afterwards.

Great havens

Interestingly while the people who start these communities may not be criminals, people hiding from the law have found these informal communities great havens.

The police complain everyday about the problems and the fact that it has hampered their ability to properly police the area. This is because these communities have poor road and lighting infrastructure thus making it difficult for the communities to be policed properly.

It is full time that the Government makes a dedicated and focused effort at attacking the problem of squatting and regularising informal communities.

It is a problem that must be given swift and urgent attention by the authorities as it is a contributor to the island's major problem of crime and violence. We hope the new government has recognised this as well and will soon implement plans to tackle the problem before it becomes even worse.