ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — The Ministry of National Security is confirming that the JamaicaEye cameras closest to the location of the stabbing attack on Saturday, December 14 in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth were fully operational at the time of the incident.

The ministry further advised that footage from JamaicaEye cameras in the vicinity of the incident is available and is being utilised in the ongoing investigations by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The clarification follows earlier statements from Porfolio Minister Dr Horace Chang who had noted that a significant number of cameras on the JamaicaEye surveillance network are down while responding to a question posed at a town hall meeting in the parish on Wednesday. The minister had cited maintenance as the primary issue.

However, in a statement on Friday, the ministry noted that while some cameras in the Santa Cruz area are currently offline due to technical challenges arising from maintenance delays, the cameras close to the latest stabbing incident were operational at the time. The ministry further assured the public that efforts are far advanced to fully restore the systems that are down.

In the meantime, the ministry said it is deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence and is reaffirming its commitment to providing the requisite resources including technology assets such as JamaicaEye, to enhance the investigative and intelligence capacity of law enforcement in their pursuit of criminal elements across the country.

READ: WATCH: Significant number of JamaicaEye cameras down, says Chang