Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson has increased the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s support for Project STAR, as its partnership with the five-year social and economic development initiative enters its second year.

“Investments and interventions in communities bring better outcomes,” noted Anderson, who also serves as Project STAR Oversight Board co-Chair alongside Keith Duncan.

The Commissioner was speaking at a press conference hosted by Project STAR at the Commissioner’s Office in Kingston, to mark its one-year anniversary.

Created by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) as a conduit between underserved people
and communities and the services and resources they need, Project STAR supported “the JCF’s policing plans to create a nexus between social connection and excellent policing outcomes,” the Commissioner further noted.

For his part, Duncan acknowledged that “the push for a ‘Force for Good’ is something that resonated with me,” as he referenced the JCF’s mantra. He added also that “interventions with community engagement have contributed to the reduction of crime and violence in some of our selected communities,” which, to date have included East Kingston, as well as sections of Westmoreland and now Clarendon.

These areas, according to Project STAR’s Data Specialist Dr. Parris Lyew Ayee, have a 55 per cent
reduction in crime in Kingston East and a 42 per cent reduction in Savanna-la-Mar.

The benefits of Project Star were echoed by Ms. Saffrey Brown, Project STARs Project Director and Julian Mair who is the co-sponsor of Public Funding and Lead Advisor.

Brown provided an insight on the strategies and approach taken by the Police and team members in order to reap the benefits thus far.

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