MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Police have increased operations here with support from the military following recent incidents of crime, including murders and robberies, resulting in two men being arrested in recent days.

Deputy superintendent in charge of operations Colin Johnson said the Manchester police received support from the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch, Specialised Operations Branch, and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).

He added that the police/military operations targeted known suspects.

“Since the start of the year, we would have seen two murders in the parish and a robbery, so we have increased our operational activity in the parish of Manchester, a joint police/military operation, so we are pursuing all the wanted men and persons of interest,” he explained on Wednesday.

“We are pursuing them relentlessly. We will leave no stone unturned until we bring them to justice for all the crimes that have been committed in Manchester… We are asking citizens also to partner with us to make Manchester a safer place,” added Johnson, who has taken a hands-on approach to crime fighting.

“The operation is ongoing; two people were [arrested] – one wanted for an offence of rape and the other is a person of interest in two murders and robberies in Manchester. We are withholding their names for the time being because they will be facing an identification parade. However, our operation continues,” he said.

Johnson is imploring citizens to remain vigilant.

“Look out for strangers and cars in communities and record the licence plate of the vehicles. Some of the robberies that we have, the men are actually on foot. They park the cars, walk down the road, rob, run back to the cars, and then they escape in order for [people] not to see the cars,” he said.

“We are sensitising people about any [strange] car you see passing [through] your area just to record the licence plate and the colour of the car and call us and tell us so that we can use it as part of our investigation,” he added.