Crime down but St James cops still face major challenges

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

While he is thrilled that major crimes, including murders, are trending down in St James, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Denver Frater, the commanding officer for Area One, is worried that social problems could make the gains unsustainable.

Speaking at a recent 10th anniversary Gleaner Editors' Forum in Montego Bay, Frater said that while tremendous strides are being made in containing crime in some communities, thanks to the input of community leaders and groups such as CSJP (Citizen Security and Justice Programme), the absence of other resources is proving problematic.

lotto scam on the decline

"The situation is becoming overwhelming in some communities because of lack of employment, lack of mentoring, lack of guidance and general lack of opportunity," said Frater.

"While we are continuing to work hard, without other resources, I don't believe we can keep it for too long," Frater added.

He said that while the "lotto scam" - which has enriched several persons and helped to empower criminal gangs - is now on the decline, issues such as money laundering remain major areas of concern for the police.

"Money laundering is an issue we are looking at," said Frater. "It involves working with a number of other agencies ... if you look at what is happening in the tax department and the kind of investigative approaches being taken ... the same with customs, we are making significant strides."

"We have a unit on board now called the Constabulary Financial Investigative Unit (CFIU) and this is a unit, which is based in Kingston but has islandwide jurisdiction looking at a number of persons, organisations and financial institutions that might be involved in money laundering," continued Frater.

In regard to the matter of identity theft, which is one of the primary tools used by persons involved in the lotto scam, Frater described the situation as frightening.

focus on gangs

"As we speak, we are in the process of upgrading our Fraud Squad and working with the Constabulary Financial Unit and the organisation from which scammers get their list (documents use to scam victims).

"We are looking to see how best we can get to the bottom of it ... . It is in fact a challenge but through our internal communications and intelligence gathering capabilities, I am sure that in short order, we will be able to make significant inroads in this particular situation."

According to Frater, the police will be attempting to further reduce crime by preventing the criminal gangs from regrouping.

"The criminal gangs are our main focus right now as they are the main contributors to the problems we are now facing in Montego Bay," said Frater.

"Interestingly, most of the areas we consider as hot spots are now contained, except for the Granville area, which remains a challenge to us."