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Mandeville CCTV cameras spot alleged rapists, drug pushers, traffic offenders
Rhoma Tomlinson
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Just days after the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in Mandeville, the police are reporting big busts in criminal activity in the parish.
Twenty-four hours after the cameras went up, the lawmen detected 162 breaches of the Road Traffic Act. By day two, they clamped down on two alleged rapists and zoomed in on persons selling drugs in the town centre.
Head of Area Three, Superintendent Martin Bailis, told persons gathered at the Mandeville Baptist Church on Sunday - the official launch date of the cameras - that at least one of the alleged rapists is in custody. He said the police were also able to apprehend the persons caught selling drugs in the town.
"This is a new weapon in our arsenal and we're prepared to use it for our citizens," he said.
Bailis was speaking just two weeks after the $12 million security system was installed in so-called crime "hot spots" in the town centre.
National Security Minister Dwight Nelson, who was also at the function, said Government is waging a relentless battle against criminals, "to retake our towns, our parishes and our country". He said the cameras will allow the Mandeville police to "deploy officers more quickly and effectively , allowing further intervention to prevent crime, or reduce its severity."
Nelson said the Montego Bay system is already up for tender, and Government is moving to put similar surveillance cameras in Ocho Rios, Portmore and Kingston.
The long awaited security surveillance system, which was initiated by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce under its Closed to Crime initiative, stalled on several occasions as the MCC could not get enough funds to foot the shipping and installation bill. Up to early last week, the Chamber admitted to a $2 million shortfall, but news came last Tuesday that State Minister for Local Government Robert Montague would give $1 million to the project.
The cameras were installed just days before a Sunday Observer article pointed to an alarming increase in major crimes in the parish. Break-ins, robberies and rapes were reportedly up. Murders, however, had gone down, when compared to the same period last year.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...BS_CAUGHT_.asp
Rhoma Tomlinson
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Just days after the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in Mandeville, the police are reporting big busts in criminal activity in the parish.
Twenty-four hours after the cameras went up, the lawmen detected 162 breaches of the Road Traffic Act. By day two, they clamped down on two alleged rapists and zoomed in on persons selling drugs in the town centre.
Head of Area Three, Superintendent Martin Bailis, told persons gathered at the Mandeville Baptist Church on Sunday - the official launch date of the cameras - that at least one of the alleged rapists is in custody. He said the police were also able to apprehend the persons caught selling drugs in the town.
"This is a new weapon in our arsenal and we're prepared to use it for our citizens," he said.
Bailis was speaking just two weeks after the $12 million security system was installed in so-called crime "hot spots" in the town centre.
National Security Minister Dwight Nelson, who was also at the function, said Government is waging a relentless battle against criminals, "to retake our towns, our parishes and our country". He said the cameras will allow the Mandeville police to "deploy officers more quickly and effectively , allowing further intervention to prevent crime, or reduce its severity."
Nelson said the Montego Bay system is already up for tender, and Government is moving to put similar surveillance cameras in Ocho Rios, Portmore and Kingston.
The long awaited security surveillance system, which was initiated by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce under its Closed to Crime initiative, stalled on several occasions as the MCC could not get enough funds to foot the shipping and installation bill. Up to early last week, the Chamber admitted to a $2 million shortfall, but news came last Tuesday that State Minister for Local Government Robert Montague would give $1 million to the project.
The cameras were installed just days before a Sunday Observer article pointed to an alarming increase in major crimes in the parish. Break-ins, robberies and rapes were reportedly up. Murders, however, had gone down, when compared to the same period last year.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...BS_CAUGHT_.asp
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