News from the OPM

National Security Council Assesses Security Threat and Directs Strategic Interventions to Restore Normalcy and Security for the Citizens of Spanish Town and Environs


National Security Council Assesses Security Threat and Directs Strategic Interventions to Restore Normalcy and Security for the Citizens of Spanish Town and Environs

The National Security Council was briefed on the disruption of public order, citizen security, and commercial activities in Spanish Town attributed to gang activity. This was among the priority agenda items for discussion at the monthly meeting of the National Security Council chaired by the Prime Minister, Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness on January 23, 2025.

The Council has directed the security forces to restore and maintain order in the area and protect citizens going about their lawful business. While the JCF has dedicated manpower and other resources to return calm to the area, the intelligence assessment is that gangs continue to pose a threat to public order, citizen security, public services, and commerce.

Beyond this immediate situation and the measures to address it, a more insidious concern is that gangs have captured and entrenched themselves in communities and have enlisted community members and their support to misguided ends. The Council notes that significant effort has been made to improve the relationship between citizens and the security forces. The JCF has assured that in its operations against the gangs in the area it will do everything to protect innocent citizens and preserve good relations with the community.

In receiving the report, Prime Minister Holness noted that the potential of Spanish Town has been suppressed, and the people denied the development they deserve because criminal gangs have embedded themselves into almost all aspects of the town’s life. The government is determined to take back Spanish Town from the gangs, separate the criminals from the law-abiding citizens, and free the communities to be able to realize their potential and ambitions in peace and security. The security forces will continue to erode the gangs operating in St. Catherine until they are dismantled entirely.

Prime Minister Holness said, “I am appealing to the residents of Spanish Town to cooperate with the police in creating the peaceful and prosperous Spanish Town we all desire.” He further noted that the government is investing heavily in Spanish Town and environs, with a new wing to the Spanish Town Hospital, upgrades to several clinics, a major water supply project, and a new divisional headquarters for the police, amounting to over JA$10 billion, with more projects to come in housing and road repairs.

The Council also discussed the change in the US Administration and the potential policy changes that will affect Jamaica, particularly migration policies and the impact on National Security.