The St Ann police are calling on councillors and the St Ann Municipal Corporation (SAMC) to be more assertive and take action against illegal settlements and structures being built that they say are havens for criminals.
The police say their intelligence and several operations tell them for sure that many criminals and wrongdoers from outside of the parish settle in some of these unstructured communities. They said councillors and the SAMC should not allow squatting to continue.
The comments from the police came as their report was delivered to the monthly meeting of the SAMC on Thursday, October 13. Inspector Webster James was representing SSP David White at the meeting and referred to other difficulties in policing posed by illegal structures and informal settlements, including at Windsor, St Ann’s Bay. He also mentioned a container unlawfully placed in Mt Edgecome, Runaway Bay from which he said commercial activities were being conducted.
Inspector Webster James.
