Downtown Kingston: Calm on the surface

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

LITTLE MORE than two weeks before Christmas 2010, downtown Kingston is busy but orderly. The police have a strong foot patrol presence - The Sunday Gleaner sees at least four batches of officers on the beat during a quick sweep from North Parade, along Church Street, onto Harbour Street then back up to West Street - and there are also motorised patrols.

The area has had its notable upsurges - the infamous 'Zekes Riots' of 1999 and the Tivoli incursion of 2010 bracket the first decade of the new millennium - but, constantly teeming with commerce and persons taking public transportation, the area has long-attracted those who would prey on the hard-working and thrifty.

Still, some of those working in the streets of downtown Kingston know by instinct and observation that although there have been reports of a rise in crime in some areas since Christopher 'Dudus' Coke's removal, it is a far cry from the chaotic state that once obtained.

"One time you woulda jus' have some man who do as them feel an' you as a yute whe a juggle fe min' your yute, you haffi watch out fe dem man deh, MPM man dem an' police an' it jus' rough," Carlton Denton, who says he has been 'moving around' downtown Kingston for over 12 years, said.

Illegal vending facilitated thieves

He recalls the days when pickpockets were rampant in the shopping zone and concedes that illegal vending, which the authorities have cracked down on significantly in recent months, had facilitated the thieves.

"Nuff man cuss the Mayor - all me too - but is a reality you caa go roun' sey when people a sell anyweh police an' all we whe a sell cyaa know who a who. A man come say him a sell side a you one day you cyaa know say a watch him a watch people whe a buy, an' make a call to him fren fe trail dem an' jook dem," Denton said.

At the Coronation Market, which is still undergoing major refurbishment, vendor Lenesia Brooks says that since returning to the market after the Tivoli incursion in May, she has not suffered from an accustomed crime. "One time yu couldn't sell in peace. You used to have some man from ova desso whe jus' come take up wha them feel outta you heap. An' you cyaa do nutten. From whe day we no really see them. One an' two, but no the swarm like one time. And we start see more police in the place," Brooks said.

Still, there is a sobering reminder from a man who gave his name as 'Criss Mark', that despite the gains in downtown Kingston, there are still underlying tensions that can reverse the situation over time. "Me haffi see this new bus park work out," he said. Mark said that he has been travelling through downtown Kingston, going to and from May Pen, Clarendon, for many years and most of the petty crime centres around travellers.

"That place far an' me no know how all the night-time gwine work out," he said.