Zone of Special Operation (ZOSO) was declared in South Savanna-La-Mar, Westmoreland by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Sunday, January 16. The Prime Minister through the recommendations of Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, and Chief of Defense Staff, LT. Gen. Rocky Meade has declared Russia, Dalling Street, and Desta Street in the parish of Westmoreland as ZOSOs.
In a recent presser held on Sunday, January 9, Mr. Holness expressed that the SOE is a specifically designed intervention, more focused on community building, and requires months of planning. However, he says it is not an immediate response tool for crime and that the current rate of murders and overall crime situation is “over and above the capacity of normal law enforcement.”
The aforementioned communities are in need of social and infrastructural intervention. These communities are urban hence their profile fits the application of ZOSO. The PM empathizes with the people of these communities who are subjected to conditions of terror. He says, most community members living in these “Gang-captured communities” are “peaceful, law-abiding citizens, who simply want to live in peace”.
PM Holness expresses that community members question leaders who hold political power but do not recognize the State of Emergency that exists in these areas. He is confident that the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) will “displace the criminals and disrupt their pattern of terror activities”.
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Reporter: Velonique Bowen
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