St. Catherine North police credit partnerships, technology for crime decline

Senior police commanders say St. Catherine North is seeing gains from a policing plan built around public order, hotspot patrols, anti-gang work and deeper community partnership across Area 5 in 2026.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Howard Chambers, who heads Area 5, said the command covers St. Catherine, St. Andrew North and St. Thomas, with divisions that require different responses. He said St. Catherine North is especially demanding because it includes busy urban areas such as Spanish Town as well as rural communities including Sligoville.

Chambers said Area 5 commanders have been directed to keep town centres under close watch, maintain round-the-clock attention on volatile areas, pursue gang members and high-risk targets, and build trust with residents. He said the police do not want to simply police people, but work alongside them.

Senior Superintendent Horton Nicholson, head of St. Catherine North, said his division has used laws dealing with proceeds of crime, lottery scamming and organised gangs to reduce the rewards of criminal activity. He said residents are increasingly rejecting the level of violence and disorder that has historically affected parts of the parish.

Nicholson said Spanish Town has benefited from public education walks and enforcement involving agencies such as the municipal corporation, the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission, the Transport Authority and the National Solid Waste Management Authority. Police have also engaged businesses, transport operators and other influential stakeholders.

Technology has also supported operations in the town centre. Chambers pointed to JamaicaEye CCTV monitoring, including one case where camera operators helped police identify suspects linked to motor vehicle thefts near March Pen Road. He said vehicle thefts fell while the suspects were in custody.

Nicholson said murders in St. Catherine North fell from 14 in the first quarter of 2025 to seven in the same period of 2026. At the time of the discussion, the division had recorded 12 murders, compared with 21 for the similar period the previous year.

Chambers said Area 5 recorded 14 murders in the first quarter of 2026, down from 48 in the corresponding period of 2025, a 71 per cent decline. He credited citizen cooperation and said continued support will be needed to sustain safer communities.