SOE for St. James (again) Hanover and Westmoreland

[harrison]

It is a shame that the government has had to resort to military checkpoints in the effort to reduce crime in your beautiful country however it can only be seen as a good thing if it helps reduce violent crime.
On our way from Montego Bay to Negril we passed 2 checkpoints and were waved through after a quick check with our bus driver.
We had already decided that we wanted to go to Black River and YS Falls on an organised tour, the bus picked us up and off we went. We encountered a queue at a military checkpoint. The cars in front of us were quickly waved through only for a young cop to decide that he needed to see everyones passports on the bus and we were waved off the road. The young guy then decided we all needed to get off the bus and present our passports. Our driver Byron made a phone call to his boss to explain what was happening and before we had time to get off the bus we had the senior guy from the JDF get on the bus and apologise most profusely that the young guy was an inexperienced Police officer and had made an error of judgement and that we were free to continue and he hoped we had a good day.
The JDF guy was brilliant and managed to avoid what could have quickly become a major problem as not one of us had our passports with us (We are advised to leave our passports locked in our safes)
We had a fantastic day out at Black River and YS Falls and passed through the same checkpoint on the way back without incident.

[brownsd54]

It is a shame that the government has had to resort to military checkpoints in the effort to reduce crime in your beautiful country however it can only be seen as a good thing if it helps reduce violent crime.
On our way from Montego Bay to Negril we passed 2 checkpoints and were waved through after a quick check with our bus driver.
We had already decided that we wanted to go to Black River and YS Falls on an organised tour, the bus picked us up and off we went. We encountered a queue at a military checkpoint. The cars in front of us were quickly waved through only for a young cop to decide that he needed to see everyones passports on the bus and we were waved off the road. The young guy then decided we all needed to get off the bus and present our passports. Our driver Byron made a phone call to his boss to explain what was happening and before we had time to get off the bus we had the senior guy from the JDF get on the bus and apologise most profusely that the young guy was an inexperienced Police officer and had made an error of judgement and that we were free to continue and he hoped we had a good day.
The JDF guy was brilliant and managed to avoid what could have quickly become a major problem as not one of us had our passports with us (We are advised to leave our passports locked in our safes)
We had a fantastic day out at Black River and YS Falls and passed through the same checkpoint on the way back without incident.

So, a couple of check points that you were quickly wave through and a stop on the way to Black River. I see this only as a positive trip report. No loss of time between MoBay and Negril and only a few moments on the way to Black River. The young JCF officer learned a lesson and although it may have been a little nerve racking at first when you were asked off the bus, remember freedom is not free and the price of peace and security is not free as well. The next time you see those young JCF officers, or JDF, offer to buy them a bottle of water or a fruit drink. Remember, they are the front line (and in most cases the last line) of defense for our peace and security.

Thanks for reporting harrison