Jamaica's Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson wants states of emergency (SOE)

BY HORACE HINES Staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, November 23, 2020

MONTEGO BAY, St James — If Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson had his way, the states of public emergency (SOEs), which were lifted ahead of the September 3 General Election, would be still in effect.

Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang (centre)
 and Commissioner of Police Major General
 Antony Anderson (second right) speak briefly
 before starting a tour of the Mount Salem
Police Station in Montego Bay with other
 high-ranking members of the Jamaica
 Constabulary Force last Friday.
(Photos: Philp Lemonte)

“If it was left to me then they (SOEs) wouldn't be gone. And you know why? They wouldn't be gone because the circumstances say when you can get a 70 per cent drop in murders (in St James) and it's still over 100, then you have a problem,” the police commissioner said while fielding questions from reporters during a press briefing at the police station in Freeport, Montego Bay, following a tour of police stations in St James on Friday.

He objected the notion that states of emergency required more members of the security forces to operate, arguing to the contrary.

“Again, this is the myth that is being perpetrated. It takes more assets to do the same things without a state of emergency. It means now that everytime the JDF [Jamaica Defence Force] goes out we have to find a police officer to send with them. So we have to do what was happening before plus find a police officer.

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