Page 131 - JSIF Magazine Approved-v2-web4

Public Safety
by Mona Sue Ho, Social Development Manager, JSIF
Consistently high rates of crime and violence, particularly in
urban areas, have posed a serious obstacle to the formation of
social and human capital, and contributed to limiting economic
growth in Jamaica. The National Development Plan, “Vision
2030”, calls for a holistic approach in national crime reduction
efforts in order to address both urban development challenges
and those relating to crime and violence. In tandem with the
National Development Plan, the Government of Jamaica (GoJ)
developed a National Security Strategy (NSS) and a National
Crime Prevention and Community Safety Strategy (NCPCSS)
which included a five-pillar strategy for crime prevention and
citizen security with a focus on effective policing, situational
crime prevention, social development, justice and reduced re-
offending.
Since its inception in 1996, JSIF has implemented a range of
programmes to support crime prevention and community safety
in Jamaica including: The Inner City Basic Services Project
(ICBSP), the Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP)
funded by the World Bank, the Japan Social Development Fund
(JSDF) and the Poverty Reduction Programme (PRP) funded by
the European Union.
JSIF’s approach to crime prevention is focused on three main
pillars:
1. Situational prevention – including investments in the
physical environment to reduce opportunity for crime in
volatile urban areas such as zinc fence removal, upgrading
of police stations and the construction of mobile police
posts, improvement to road infrastructure and the creation
of recreational and green spaces. These projects reflect
the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental
Design (CPTED) which is an approach that utilizes the
design and management of the built environment to deter
criminal activity.
• The construction of four (4) mobile police/mediation
posts
• Zinc Fence Removal – in three (3) communities with
plans to duplicate this activity in eleven communities
during 2017-2019
• Rehabilitation of road networks to facilitate policing
and connectivity within communities
• Construction of parks and green spaces
• Solid Waste management
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