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Wednesday, 14 January 2009 
Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin is warning that the police will be much tougher this year on minor offences, such as night noise and the wearing of seat-belts and helmets.
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }Speaking Tuesday at his first press conference for 2009, Commissioner Lewin said he is disappointed that the police's crackdown on minor offences had not gained much traction last year but pledged that the police will be cracking down on these offenders.
In relation to enforcement of the Noise Abatement Act, rear Admiral Lewin explained that the dancehall culture was more pervasive than he had imagined and that this was compounded by manpower issues.
"I don't think we've prosecuted enough people ... you can't see 3,000 people somewhere in a dance and send two policemen to turn off the noise ... it's more likely that we'll lose two police officers so there are some challenges but we know who applied for the permits and we're going to have to find and charge them.
I think some of the officers are in sympathy with these people and I think we're going to have to look at look at the law," said Rear Admiral Lewin.
The Commissioner also noted that the tardiness of the court system has had a negative impact on the enforcement of the seat belt law and the wearing of helmets.
He stated that it was difficult to get officers fired up about enforcement when the cases continue to drag through the court and is calling for a system to dispose of such cases in a more expeditious fashion.
Police failures - Shields
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields is criticizing some members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) who he claimed are derelict in enforcing the law.
Speaking Tuesday on RJR's daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond the Headlines, DCP Shields declared that there are members of the JCF who refuse to enforce the law which has resulted in a spike in crime and violence.
"It's not just about noise abatement, we have said over the past three or four years that the local authorities need to get rid of derelict buildings which are havens and advantage points for gunmen, drug dealers and other criminals.
We've failed to do that and we've also to remove barricades from some of the so called garrison communities and we've failed to stop people riding motor cycles without crash helmets," he said.
Targeting some parishes to achieve 5% crime reduction
Also this year, the JCF will also be increasing its crime fighting strategies this year in some rural parishes which have seen a dramatic spike in major crimes.
Commissioner Lewin said the police will be targeting St. James, St. Catherine and Clarendon as part of efforts to decrease the country's murder rate by 5%.
There was a 2% increase in the country's murder rate for 2008, but according to Rear Admiral Lewin, increased crime fighting strategies led to a 12% reduction in murders in Kingston and St Andrew in last year.
He said the strategies used in the Corporate Area will now be employed in these rural parishes.
"The metro region of Kinston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine, has shown an overall decrease in murder and shootings ... decreases of -8% in murders and 1% in shootings.
St. James and Clarendon have shown the most significant increase in murder and shootings and will be the focus of special attention by the Kingston based join task forces in the new year, until we build them their own capabilities," he said.
While expressing disappointed with the 2% increase in the country's murder rate for 2008, Commissioner Lewin said a major undertaking of the JCF this year, will be to reduce the island's murder toll.
Crime figures
And crime statistics released Tuesday during the Police Commissioners press conference showed that 94 children and 160 women were murdered in 2008 with 229 children and 463 women killed in Jamaica over the past three years.
The statistics also showed that 12 members of the JCF were killed in 2008 while 41 police officers were gunned down by criminals over the past three years.
The figures also show that the police captured 604 wanted men and seized 615 illegal guns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition.
Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin is warning that the police will be much tougher this year on minor offences, such as night noise and the wearing of seat-belts and helmets.st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }Speaking Tuesday at his first press conference for 2009, Commissioner Lewin said he is disappointed that the police's crackdown on minor offences had not gained much traction last year but pledged that the police will be cracking down on these offenders.
In relation to enforcement of the Noise Abatement Act, rear Admiral Lewin explained that the dancehall culture was more pervasive than he had imagined and that this was compounded by manpower issues.
"I don't think we've prosecuted enough people ... you can't see 3,000 people somewhere in a dance and send two policemen to turn off the noise ... it's more likely that we'll lose two police officers so there are some challenges but we know who applied for the permits and we're going to have to find and charge them.
I think some of the officers are in sympathy with these people and I think we're going to have to look at look at the law," said Rear Admiral Lewin.
The Commissioner also noted that the tardiness of the court system has had a negative impact on the enforcement of the seat belt law and the wearing of helmets.
He stated that it was difficult to get officers fired up about enforcement when the cases continue to drag through the court and is calling for a system to dispose of such cases in a more expeditious fashion.
Police failures - Shields
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields is criticizing some members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) who he claimed are derelict in enforcing the law.Speaking Tuesday on RJR's daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond the Headlines, DCP Shields declared that there are members of the JCF who refuse to enforce the law which has resulted in a spike in crime and violence.
"It's not just about noise abatement, we have said over the past three or four years that the local authorities need to get rid of derelict buildings which are havens and advantage points for gunmen, drug dealers and other criminals.
We've failed to do that and we've also to remove barricades from some of the so called garrison communities and we've failed to stop people riding motor cycles without crash helmets," he said.
Targeting some parishes to achieve 5% crime reduction
Also this year, the JCF will also be increasing its crime fighting strategies this year in some rural parishes which have seen a dramatic spike in major crimes.
Commissioner Lewin said the police will be targeting St. James, St. Catherine and Clarendon as part of efforts to decrease the country's murder rate by 5%.
There was a 2% increase in the country's murder rate for 2008, but according to Rear Admiral Lewin, increased crime fighting strategies led to a 12% reduction in murders in Kingston and St Andrew in last year.
He said the strategies used in the Corporate Area will now be employed in these rural parishes.
"The metro region of Kinston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine, has shown an overall decrease in murder and shootings ... decreases of -8% in murders and 1% in shootings.
St. James and Clarendon have shown the most significant increase in murder and shootings and will be the focus of special attention by the Kingston based join task forces in the new year, until we build them their own capabilities," he said.
While expressing disappointed with the 2% increase in the country's murder rate for 2008, Commissioner Lewin said a major undertaking of the JCF this year, will be to reduce the island's murder toll.
Crime figures
And crime statistics released Tuesday during the Police Commissioners press conference showed that 94 children and 160 women were murdered in 2008 with 229 children and 463 women killed in Jamaica over the past three years.
The statistics also showed that 12 members of the JCF were killed in 2008 while 41 police officers were gunned down by criminals over the past three years.
The figures also show that the police captured 604 wanted men and seized 615 illegal guns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition.
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