Police, party promoters to partner in Old Harbour

SSP Chris Phillips, commander in charge of St Catherine South Division, is pushing for the establishment of a working strategy between both sides which he contends is a win-win solution for all stakeholders.

At a recent meeting involving leading figures in the entertainment industry in Jamaica’s fastest growing town, the division’s chief law enforcer noted that it’s a template that has been successful elsewhere.

“Some people still have the ‘eat a food’ mentality approach to business and if you have that approach you not going to reach that far. Get out of that ‘eat a food’ mentality approach to business and start approach it like real business person,” SSP Phillips told party promoters.

The senior cop who is a resident of Old Harbour spoke of the need and importance of promoters to organize themselves into a registered association so they can speak with one unified voice.

As a collective group the benefits are far-reaching, the senior cop noted and moreso now given the rapid expansion of Old Harbour. This he reasoned will enable the police to deploy its resources efficiently, while permitting parties within the space will be streamlined and the approval process shorten.

An association of local events promoters will also be poised for collaboration other entities such as HEART/Trust NTA, whereby persons can become certified in event planning, interior designing, etc.

“If you are making so much money and you have an ‘eat a food’ mentality, you go’in fail after a while. So I’m saying to people that you have to organize yourselves to be far more effective and to have a voice out there.”

Prior to being promoted to head St Catherine South Division which encompasses Portmore and Old Harbour, SSP Phillips said he instituted a similar programme in May Pen, Clarendon. He said it was a litmus test of sort that yielded the desired objectives.

“Get yourselves in some association and have your reps speak on your behalf because there are so much things to fix in the entertainment industry,” he urged players within the sector. “In fact sometimes I get annoyed because I think that the things (policies) are so slow in coming… very slow in building out entertainment zones that would bring better order and control for the police.”

He pointed to other jurisdiction such as the US state of New York where “there is a clear understanding” how the sector functions, crediting the organizational structures that exists and which he would love to see adopted.

He argued that a stronger relationship between promoters and the police will build public confidence and reflect in larger turnouts to these events.

“You know what that organization brought for us in Clarendon?” quipped Phillips. “We were able to deter when scammers coming to Clarendon to keep parties… because we create a family who started to protect their thing in the parish. So no outside can infiltrate the party space so easy because the locals have control.”

Promoters present openly expressed a willingness to act upon the police’s proposal. They agree such an initiative will cause the authorities to see them as a reliable stakeholder rather than targets.

The top brass of the police division said it will continue to engage other event promoters within the space with a view of building broad consensus among players within Old Harbour. A similar forum is scheduled for Old Harbour Bay Square on March 27, 2022 starting 4:00 pm.