SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland – Fed up with the wanton blood-letting in Westmoreland, the Westmoreland Neighbourhood Watch is to stage a peace march in Savanna-la-Mar, the parish’s capital, Thursday, October 27, commencing at noon.

Up to Friday, October 14 this year, the Westmoreland Police Division recorded some 123 murders which were 31 or 33.7 per cent more than the 92 over the corresponding period in 2021.

“We are the neighbourhood watch group for Westmoreland and we see what is really going on with the crime and violence and so we are trying to put our best foot forward, along with the police, and see how best we can help,” chairman of the Westmoreland Neighbourhood Watch Council Lyndon Johnson told the Jamaica Observer West.

He noted that so far, churches, schools, the police, the fire brigade and citizens’ associations in and around Savanna-la-Mar have been invited to participate in the peace march, adding that plans are well advanced for the event.

But despite the uptick in murders in the parish this year, commander of the Westmoreland Police Division Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Wayne Josephs said he is heartened by the inroads that the police have been steadily making in the battle against criminals.

Speaking at the recent regular monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, SSP Josephs heaped praises on members of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) for clearing up 52 of the murders in the parish this year.

“…I must also highlight that the work of the police in the division, in particular the Criminal Investigation Branch…I need to commend them because so far they have managed to clear up 52 of those murders. And 52 murders to be cleared in roughly nine month-odd is very commendable because it works out to be about six murders per month that are being cleared and that is way above international standards. So, I have to commend them for that,” said SSP Josephs.

He underscored that one of the current priorities of the Westmoreland police is to focus on motorcycles, “which present the most clear and present danger to citizens in Westmoreland”.

“So we have been targeting them [motorcyclists], especially those motorcycles that are travelling with two persons aboard. We find that a lot of these motorcycles are not registered and I just want to use this opportunity to send a clear message to motorcyclists out there that if you do not have a rider’s licence and you are travelling with a learner’s licence, you are not allowed to carry passengers on the motorcycle. And we will be coming out at you. Two persons travelling on a motorcycle, we have launched a campaign on them…two persons on a motorcycle have been posing the most danger to us,” he underscored.

“We will be seizing those motorcycles and persons who have motorcycles that they cannot properly account for, we will not only be seizing those motorcycles, we will be charging for unlawful possession of property. So beware we will be coming at you.”

The following night after SSP Josephs issued the warning, two men travelling on a motorcycle allegedly shot and killed 40-year-old Nickalda Smith, a labourer of White Road, Denbigh Clarendon, on Norman Manley Boulevard in Negril.

During his remarks at the meeting, the senior cop also highlighted that over the past couple of months, lawmen have nabbed a number of major players of criminal gangs operating in Westmoreland.

“We have been able to impact these gangs significantly and we now have a number of the major players of these gangs in custody, but not just in custody, charged for murders and shootings. A number of them have been taken into custody and over the last two weeks we have seen the results and the impact of that on the criminal landscape,” he stated.

Savanna-la-Mar-based gangs were among those SSP Josephs named, creating most of the mayhem in the parish.

“The gangs that we have to watch in the Sav area most closely that have been giving us most of the problems are the Dalling Street versus the Delete gang and now we find that the Delete gang has now been collaborating with persons in the Gully Bank area. So we have to be watching those places very closely. We have the Kings Valley and the Ants Posse gang, which is in Crowder. And we also have the Shrewsbury Logwood and Flagseed Logwood,” he stated.

“We also have in the Whithorn area where we have the Shrewsbury Logwood, and Flagseed Logwood. There is also the Little London area where we have Retreat Bog Bridge and Big Bridge, really specifically Egypt Gardens and Bird Land; those are our main concern areas. Within the Morgan’s Bridge area we also have King’s Valley and Crowder, these are places to watch.

He further noted that lottery scamming is another area of concern for the police in the parish.

“We have been focusing on lottery scammers because you know that in Westmoreland, like our neighbours St James, lottery scamming has afforded these youngsters the ability to purchase these weapons and fast motorcars and so on. As a result of that, we have been seeing a number of murders and shootings spinning off. So we have been targeting lottery scammers,” disclosed the head of the Westmoreland Police Division.

The recent boost to the complement of police in the division is already paying dividends, said SSP Josephs.

“We got a new injection of police officers in the parish over the last two weeks, it is still below where we want it to be, but they come with zeal and zest and they have the energy. So we are trying to harness that. And some of you might see increased police activities within the space and we have been gaining some positive results,” he argued.

The Westmoreland Neighbourhood Watch-initiated peace march will start at Independence Park and moves easterly on Barracks Road to where it meets Hudson Street, southerly on Hudson Street to where it meets Cooke Street, then west on Cooke Street to Darling Street, travel northerly on Darling Street to Seaton Street, then from Seaton Street to Beckford Street, then southerly on Beckford Street to the round-a-bout, turn east on Barracks Road and back to Independence Park.