Prime Minister Andrew Holness Friday declared Mount Salem in St. James as the first Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) under recently approved legislation aimed at curbing the spiralling murder rate in Jamaica.
Holness, speaking at a news conference here, said that under the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations Special Security and Community Development Measures) Act, members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) are now in the zone, which will operate for 60 days.
He called on all citizens to fully cooperate, noting that no community will be allowed to operate as a safe haven for criminals.
“We will establish and restore public order, citizen security, and public safety. We will make Jamaica safe again,” he said.
The Act gives the Prime Minister, in Council, the authority to declare an area as a zone of special operations.
The zones will be operated by a Joint Command of the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The prime minister, in Council, after consultation with the Joint Command, may request of the Parliament an extension of the zone.
Figures released by the JCF showed that up to last weekend, a total of 1,005 people were killed across the island this year, a 24 percent increase, or 197 more than was recorded for the corresponding period last year.
The statistics also showed that 114 people were murdered across Jamaica over a 20-day period that ended last Saturday.
Last year, the island recorded 1,350 murders, with the police claiming then that 65 percent of these murders were linked to gangs.
