The current 7 day island night curfew, which is now in place from 8pm to 6am is not a crime reduction measure as is the ZOSO (Zones of Special Operations). The curfew was put in place by only about half the Parliament (the party in power, the JLP) as a way to reduce gatherings at night that breach the current COVID measures. The Opposition PNP were originally told there was to be no sitting session that day, and was later given one hour notice of the vote. Needless to say they were not happy about that and no PNP member of Parliament was present for the vote.Originally Posted by TuffGong
Even during the COVID outbreak, politics is still politics.
Its not just RJR and Power 106, but even the PSOJ (Private Sector Organization of Jamaica) state that the murder rate is holding back economic development. This is a widely held belief by virtually every Jamaican. But it seems you may be confusing the ZOSO with the 7 day curfew which has already seen a dozen arrested and charged in the Kingston area for breaches of the COVID measures.
Of the two current crime reduction measures, the State of Public Emergency (SOE) and the Zones of Special Operations, the ZOSOs are the least restrictive. A ZOSO is not a typical police curfew, but an attempt at a new program that is heavily focused on respect for and harmony with the occupied community. The results are not instantaneous but expected to take years to show results. The first one started in October 2017 in Denham Town. Denham Town is seeing a high murder rate as of 2020.
The SOEs, which started in January 2018 and now cover about half the island, are suspensions of the constitutional rights of the citizens. There is much debate as to the effectiveness of the SOEs, while Westmoreland has probably benefited the most, the murder rate has actually increased on the island under the current SOEs.
There are also several pending cases in the Jamaican Supreme Court as to the Constitutionality of the SOEs. There is a possibility that the SOEs can be struck down by a Supreme Court ruling.
The effectiveness of the ZOSOs and SOEs were often a debate starter in local bars. If you were a JLP supporter the measures were often seen as effective. PNP supporters generally used the current statistics to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the measures. But since the COVID-19 virus, there is not much conversation about this as it has taken the back burner to the crisis at hand.
