Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared a State of Emergency (SOE) in the parish of St Catherine amid a flare-up of violence in Spanish Town.
On Tuesday, three people were shot and several others wounded in related incidents in Spanish Town, St Catherine. Last week, a gang-affiliated shooting also claimed the lives of four people in Spanish Town.
In making the SOE declaration on Friday morning, Prime Minister Holness said the terrorism being experienced in some communities in Spanish Town is a result of the organized criminal activity of gangs.
“The government has to act. The government cannot sit by and see innocent Jamaicans going about their business and having to be scurrying for their lives. The government has to act. That is the government’s responsibility,” he stated.
The measure can only remain in force for 14 days. If the measure is to be extended, it must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Upper House.
Prime Minister Holness said the government will be acting within the boundaries of the constitution, as it relates to SOE.
Increase in Crime in St Catherine
Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson who also spoke at the press conference on Friday, says the level of crime and violence in Spanish Town over the last two months has risen to a level that “greatly endangers public safety.”
Commissioner Anderson says there are 12 active gang conflicts now ongoing in the parish of St Catherine. According to him, the conflicts have now reached the level where family members of gangsters are being targeted in reprisal killings.
The police commissioner also detailed that there has been a sharp increase in the number of murders and shootings recorded in some areas of the parish.
“Since the beginning of 2022, in St Catherine, we have arrested 82 persons for illegal possession of firearm, ammunition or both, and seized 59 illegal guns – an increase of 28 percent. We have also continued to prosecute gang members and are leading several active community engagement efforts. Despite these efforts, as at June 15, the St Catherine North Division recorded 70 murders and 51 shootings, representing a 52 percent and 76 percent increase respectively compared to last year,” the Commissioner explained.
Violent conflicts in Spanish Town have also spilled over to areas of Portmore and Old Harbour.
The police commissioner said crime statistics from past SOEs show that this method has
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