Linton P. Gordon
The upsurge in criminal activities on the North Coast, in particular in the Mammee Bay/Steer Town areas and in the Parry Town area should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the concerns that I have been expressing about these areas over the years. For the past ten (10) years I have been warning the authorities and citizens that so long as they allow squatter settlements, informal settlements and ghetto-type communities to emerge and become established adjacent to well established communities then the well-established communities will experience increase criminal activities. There was a time when lawyers, judges and doctors would visit Steer Town regularly to have a meal and to have a drink. Then, it was a safe community and nobody felt threatened by being present in that community.
Today Steer Town is seen as a dangerous place to visit. The original citizens of Steer Town now cringe in their homes in fear as guns bark nightly in the area. The Police recently reported that they had to terminate a visit to the Steer Town community and beat a hasty retreat as they were fired on by heavily armed gun men. Steer Town is now a “new and different community”, far removed from the good old days. It is ruled by gangs. These gangs extend their activities to adjoining communities including Ocho Rios.Recently there was a gang style execution of an opponent who was shot and killed at a location in close proximity to the famous and prominent Taj Mahal Shopping Centre. The persons involved are said to be members of a gang in Steer Town.
PARRY TOWN’S RECENT CRIMINALS
Thing are no different in the Parry Town area. There, children attending the Perry Town Primary School are subject to intimidation, physical abuse and the stealing of their property by criminals who recently started living in the community.The squatter settlements in the Parry Town area are located mainly on the water shed for two of the main rivers coming into Ocho Rios. There is degradation of the environment, deforestation and soil erosion. There is also regular gunfire in the community, and like in Steer Town, the original citizens of Parry Town and adjoining communities cringe in fear of the gangsters and gunmen who have now taken over the Parry Town area.Politicians on both sides of the fence practice wilful blindness and in some instances give active support to squatters. The input from the politicians emboldens squatters to behave like rulers and enforcers as they arrive in communities to squat.Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force are given an all but impossible task to enforce law and order in these communities. There are no formal addresses or formal street names. Many of the squatters and gunmen go by aliases. This makes it all but impossible for the Police to track them. It is all but impossible for the Police to patrol these communities in the day much less at night. There are no proper roads for cars or bikes to enter and patrol these communities. There are no street lights. There are no street numbers giving different addresses.These communities expand rapidly and as they expand they become trophies for Politicians who see them as a solid block of voters. It is not surprising therefore that in many areas including the provision of schools, squatter settlements are given priority over well established communities.Our political leaders are not genuinely committed to the elimination of crime in this country. They talk the talk but they do not walk the walk. The crime situation in Ocho Rios will unfortunately continue to worsen as more and more squatters descend on the area taking along with them undesirables.Citizens need to convene town meetings, confront their political representative and insist that they take action to rescue their communities. The Government also needs to protect lands belonging to the State from squatters. To leave things as they are is to create a free for all which is a tragedy for the parish of Saint Ann.I encourage you all to remember Judges 21 verse 25“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.The authorities, both at the Central Government and Local Government levels need to govern, which is what they are expected to do. If they govern properly they would protect the assets of the State and prevent people from establishing squatter settlements on the Government lands to the grave detriment of law abiding citizens and well established communities.
