Mount Salem ZOSO extended for 60 days after house approval

The House of Representatives has approved a resolution extending the Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) Mount Salem, St James, for an additional 60 days.

The resolution was moved by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who noted that there has been no murder or shooting incidents in Mount Salem since the community was declared Jamaica's first zone of special operations (ZOSO) in September 2017.

“Over the period September 2017 to October 11, 2018, the community experienced no murders or shootings,” he said.

In addition, Holness again made it clear that more ZOSOs are coming. "There are more zones coming. We have identified at least 20 communities," he declared.

Seeking to underscore the successes of the Government's signature anti-crime measures, the prime minister said, in addition to the guns going silent in Mount Salem, murders and shootings are down across St James by 53 and 66 per cent, respectively.

According to Holness, the St James Police have recorded 77 murders since the state of emergency was first declared in January, compared with 204 over the corresponding period last year.

In Mount Salem, he said there were 10 murders and 12 shooting incidents in the months before the community was declared a zone of special operations.

"Mount Salem today is quite different from Mount Salem before (it was declared a zone of special operations)," he declared.

In September 2017, Prime Minister Holness declared Mount Salem and surrounding areas in St James as the first Zone of Special Operation (ZOSO). At that time he reminded that no area can be declared a zone of special operation for more than 60 days. In addition, the prime minister said if targets are not met within the 60-day allotted for the operation, Parliament will then have to decide whether the ZOSO should continue or end.

It's been more than a year and ZOSO has been continuously extended to maintain the law and order, while dropping down the crime rate.