Santa Cruz cops gear up for Xmas crowds
Published:Monday | December 13, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Major traffic changes have been implemented in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, as the police try to curb congestion and crime in the town amid the anticipated holiday shopping crush.
Strict vending rules will also be imposed in the southwestern Jamaica town to shore up public order, as well as ensure the seamless movement of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
"Over the years, we have observed that Santa Cruz, being the largest township in the parish, has persons converging here from various points in St Elizabeth, Clarendon, St Catherine, Trelawny and even the Corporate Area," Inspector Louis Brown, subofficer in charge of the Santa Cruz police, told The Gleaner.
"So what we will be doing is redirecting traffic in a one-way mode, that is, from the vehicle reaches Pagan Drive and Main Street, it is one way west. Therefore, we are allowing pedestrians, shoppers and others to travel freely.
"Larger vehicles will take the bypass and use Institution Drive going north and avoid congesting the town, and it will be one way east to west through the town," Brown added.
He said the traffic changes will not be lifted until after the first week of January.
Brown said the police would be tough on vendors who try to set up stalls haphazardly.
"We have been talking to the vendors from as early as last month to educate them on how they should use the vending areas of Santa Cruz. They will be placed in specified areas."
The police inspector said the Santa Cruz market had adequate space to accommodate vendors, while some business operators have reportedly agreed to allow some persons to ply their wares in the plazas.
"What you find is that criminals use the crowded streets for their wrongs, especially those who are now doing the cash-for-gold trade and those who are selling illegal CDs, DVDs and illegal Cash Pot."
Brown said the police have devised a plan to patrol the streets of Santa Cruz using their operations team, the Island Special Constabulary Force and other personnel.
He noted that the police's Christmas anti-crime programme has already been implemented, with the target being migrant criminals and criminal gangs which operate in the parish.
"We are targeting the gangs, the young people who sit on street corners, the known robbers and the praedial thieves who go after the goats in the Christmas season.
"We will be checking the vehicles coming into and leaving the town through random spot checks and roadblocks," added Brown.
Up to November, St Elizabeth had recorded a reduction in most major crimes, with murders down 24 per cent and shootings plunging 15 per cent.
But a 33 per cent jump in the number of reported rape cases and a 29 per cent increase in carnal abuse remain a cause for concern for cops in the parish.