Dr Chang: Old Harbour ‘one of the communities we will get’ JamaicaEye into

Surveillance of the public space across the country is being slowly rolled out by the state, but many Jamaicans are dissatisfied with the pace of the JamaicaEye initiative.

Old Harbour, regarded as the fastest growing town in Jamaica, is one of several urban centres yet to see the state-owned surveillance apparatus installed at strategic locations throughout its locale.

JamaicaEye is highly touted as a major crime fighting tool to deter, as well as swiftly apprehend criminals.

And many are of the opinion that the deadly event that occurred in Spring Village would not happen if CCTV cameras had been in place.

Its non-existence where nine persons were shot, three of whom died, has renewed calls for its urgent implementation.

President of the South St Catherine Chamber of Commerce Treacha Reid said the group is in dialogue with the JamaicaEye unit and is seeking a way to expedite the process. She said they have not only met with JamaicaEye representatives but a site visit with all stakeholders was carried out in Old Harbour.

"Where we are now is to see how best the business community can partner with the government and fast-track plans to bring JamaicaEye here in Old Harbour and other communities considered by the police as hotspots for crime," said Reid.

"Maybe if we had JamaicaEye in Spring Village then what happened on Sunday would not have occurred. Maybe if we had JamaicaEye in Old Harbour Bay then the recent killings would not have happened either.

"Our objective as a business community and importantly too as residents is to be proactive in our efforts to reduce or prevent crimes like these from happening in the first place.

"We believe that this fight against crime is not for the government alone to fix but for all of us as citizens to recognize that we all have a role to play to make our communities safer.

"And so we will continue to lobby and intensify our efforts to bring JamaicaEye to Old Harbour as soon as it is possible."

After meeting with families and victims of the mass shooting, Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said Old Harbour is on the radar for JamaicaEye to be installed but could not commit to a specific timeline.

"I couldn't give you the exact time now," Dr Chang said in response to a question posed by Old Harbour News. "It is one of the communities we will get into. JamaicaEye is a surveillance system which we consider important in expanding. We have a fair number but we are expanding at a good rate and we’re looking at how we can expand faster.

“Remember it's not just the cameras. We have an entire network and a backroom that can analyze and deal with information quickly.

"I can't tell you it's going to be done tomorrow but we are moving to establish cameras across the island in all the difficult areas."

The South St Catherine Police Division which covers Portmore and Old Harbour has recorded 95 murders between January 1, 2022 and September 24, 2022, the exact amount of homicides compared to the corresponding period last year.