Securing Our Communities: Celebrating Q1 Successes Across Area 3

Securing Our Communities in Area 3

📺 Watch the Replay: Securing Our Communities: Celebrating Q1 Successes Across Area 3

What happens when you mix data-driven policing with strong community partnerships? You get results. The numbers from Area 3 prove it.

Our most recent Community Safety and Security Live Forum, hosted by Serenity Resource Connector in collaboration with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Area 3 and sponsored by National Self-Serve Wholesale, spotlighted the real work being done to secure Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth. The forum unpacked the Q1 2025 crime trends, youth-led outreach, and inter-parish collaboration that’s pushing Jamaica’s community safety efforts forward.

Q1 Snapshot: Real Reduction, Real Impact

Clarendon: 44.4% drop in murders and shootings

St Elizabeth: 64% murder reduction (lowest in over a decade)

Area 3 Overall: 54% decline in murders compared to Q1 last year

These figures show not just progress but potential. Targeted operations, community engagement and a clear message: enforcement and education must go hand in hand.

Community Policing in Practice

JCF Area 3 divisions have taken a balanced, grassroots approach to policing. The forum outlined several standout efforts:

• Project STAR in high-risk areas like Havana Heights, Race Track and Treadlight

• "Nuh GVD (Gangs, Violence, Drugs)" campaign across schools in Clarendon

• Strong partnerships with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency and Youth Innovation Centre

• Neighbourhood Watch Council relaunch and consistent Police Youth Club meetings across parishes

• Engagement of school resource officers to reduce student-related incidents

Area 3 is demonstrating how community policing in Jamaica isn’t just theory. It’s daily, practical, people-centred action.

Cross-Divisional Collaboration

What sets Area 3 apart is the way its divisions support and learn from each other. No one is too proud to adopt what works — and that makes everyone stronger.

• St Elizabeth rolled out the “Round Robin” patrol model, a strategy first used in Clarendon and Manchester and originally inspired by the community's own way of rotating bar events. It has become an effective tool for visibility, teamwork and public reassurance.

• Clarendon highlighted St Elizabeth’s joint patrol scheduling, where teams made up of different ranks conduct joint operations during peak hours. It’s a practice that reinforces discipline, presence and collaboration, and one Clarendon sees as worth replicating.

• St Elizabeth also recognised Clarendon’s consistent school-based engagement, including school resource officers and structured youth interventions, as something they want to strengthen in their own parish.

• Clarendon continues to lead with its “beat patrol” system, keeping officers on foot in public spaces to stay visible, build relationships and deter street-level offences.

• St Elizabeth launched “Shop with a Cop,” adapting the concept from programmes pioneered by ACP Chris Phillips in other areas. It’s one more way to break down barriers between police and youth through shared, positive experiences.

• Officers from St Elizabeth who took part in Clarendon’s community 5K Walk/Run are now planning to host a similar event — not just to promote wellness, but to bring communities and police together in a space of unity.

These are not isolated efforts. They reflect a mindset across Area 3 that says: if something works in one parish, it can benefit another. That willingness to share, adapt and uplift is exactly what helps secure our communities.

Information Sharing and Operational Strategy

Criminals move, and so must intelligence. The forum highlighted how interdivisional communication helps solve cases.

• Shared information about itinerant suspects, their networks and behaviour

• Joint roadblocks and police-military operations to intercept illegal firearms

• Utilisation of new highways, both for access and enforcement strategy

• Filling resource gaps by rotating personnel and pooling expertise during major operations

By working as one unit, Area 3 is staying ahead of threats that don’t respect parish lines.

Youth Empowerment That Works

The Police Youth Clubs in Jamaica are growing, and it’s deliberate. Weekly meetings are held in:

• Santa Cruz: Tuesdays at 7 PM

• Newell: Thursdays at 8 PM

• Junction: Saturdays and the first Sunday monthly

• STETHS: Tuesdays at 11 AM

• Bull Savanna and Leeds: Thursdays at 6 PM

• And more…

Clubs that aren't yet active, like in Malvern, are being targeted for reactivation this quarter. Interested in starting a Police Youth Club? Contact the Community Safety and Security Branch. They’ll walk you through it.

Straight Talk from Division Leaders

DSP Anton-Gur Cardoza (Clarendon)

"We could not have achieved this drop in crime without the community. Information is our engine. Without it, we’re ineffective."

Superintendent Coleridge Minto (St Elizabeth)

"Violent crime often starts at home. We must intervene early. Engage pastors, JPs, police officers. Help is here before it’s too late."

ASP Melecia Morrison (Area 3 HQ)

"Crime thrives in silence. When we normalise disorder, we create space for bigger threats. Speak up. Stay engaged. Discipline starts with all of us."

Upcoming Events: Safety Meets Celebration

The work continues, but so does the celebration of community.

• Jamaica Legion Musical Evening

May 25 at 4 PM at St Gabriel’s Anglican Church Hall

Featuring the Jamaica Regiment Band

Tickets: $1,000 pre-sold, $1,500 at the gate, $500 for children

• Clarendon Mother’s Day Play

May 11 at 7 PM at Denbigh Show Ground

Tickets: $2,500 pre-sold, $3,000 at the gate

• Longville Park Youth Club Movie Night

May 11 at 6:30 PM

Events like these reflect a simple truth. Safety grows stronger when communities connect.

Camaraderie

A lighter highlight? Clarendon Division walked away with the win at Area 3 Sports Day, edging out St Elizabeth and Manchester in a friendly but competitive day-long event.

Watch, Share, Act

Watch the full replay: Securing Our Communities: Celebrating Q1 Successes Across Area 3

Head to our blog weekly for highlights, updates and forum recaps.

Your involvement matters. Support your division. Attend your local Police Youth Club. Share this story.

Together, we build safer communities.

Together, we secure Jamaica.