Gov to discontinue St Catherine SOE – Dr Chang

Minister of National Security Dr Horace made the declaration in Parliament this afternoon.

A SOE was declared for the entire parish in response to a flare up of deadly gang violence within the One Order gang based in Spanish Town, the parish capital.

At the time Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the SOE, 15 persons were killed within a week of the internecine warfare.

However, the validity of the SOE came under intense scrutiny when the Constitutional Court ruled on the same day of Holness’ decree that the special security powers granted are unconstitutional.

Addressing lawmakers in the House of Representatives, Dr Chang said: “The Government of Jamaica has further reviewed the security  situation in the parish of St Catherine and on the advice of the heads of the security forces were are satisfied that the declaration of the state of emergency has allowed the security forces to bring the area under some level of control.

“The statute will be reshaped to maintain the current status quo as necessary, however, if there is any further change in the situation we will advise the nation what further steps can be taken.

“In fact if it needs to return to a public state of emergency… but at this time we will not ask for an extension and will allow the current 14 days to expire and the security forces have pledged to use whatever current tools they have to make strategic deployment to maintain the status quo.”

The decision to discontinue the SOE is hardly a surprise given the body blow delivered by the Constitutional Court. Mark Golding, president and opposition leader of the People’s National Party (PNP) has also indicated that they are not in support of an extension, another signal that the Holness-led government took cue from.

Prior to today Dr Chang told the nation that in light of the court’s ruling, the security forces have detained, arrested and charged gangsters under the Jamaica Constabulary Force Act instead of using the powers granted under the current SOE regulation.

Bringing his presentation to a close, Dr Chang said the government will review and table a revised Emergency Power Regulation following bi-partisan discussion with the opposition.

Meanwhile, the today’s announcement will be celebrated by many event promoters, bar operators and entrepreneurs who have complained about the negative impact the SOE was having on their business operations and upcoming events.