The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

Police will be focused on targeting "prolific offenders" at tonight's Junkanoo parade with a comprehensive screening process that every parade-goer will be subject to.

During the Boxing Day parade, this same screening process saw "a number of persons" arrested in the corridors leading to the parade - before entering the Junkanoo arena - and more turned away at the gate.

At a press conference Monday morning at police headquarters, Assistant Commissioner of Police Leon Bethel revealed hundreds of officers will be on the streets this evening and through to the morning in an effort to ensure that tonight's Junkanoo attendees will be safe.

"We have a system where officers are posted at all of the major arteries leading into the downtown area. These officers will screen everyone, they will execute stop and search, and of course anyone in contravention of any of the laws will be arrested right there and then," he said.

"The next system of security is at the access points - which is of course similar to the screening process at the airport. Everyone who is attempting to go into Junkanoo will be subject to screening.

"Officers will be there looking for persons who are on our wanted list; looking for prolific criminals; criminals who are engaged in gang activities; criminals who have been arrested for any type of serious offences, gone to prison, did not produce the weapons that they used in committing these offences but they are now out on bail. We're going to continue to go after them until we recover all those guns and knives that they used to commit offences."

He said police will be "targeting" these offenders and there will be officers on duty just to "identify those prolific offenders" and any weapons they may have.

"If anyone attempts to bring gun or knives, you can be sure that we are going to detect them," Mr Bethel said.

"We are going to have all of the resources of the police force being utilised. When I say all of the resources - I mean all. Metal detectors, we're going to have the dogs out, we're going to have all for the officers who are trained in profiling so that anyone who we know to be a threat, who has the propensity to commit crimes, who are involved in so-called gangs, who have conflicts with other persons, we are going to target them to make sure that we do not leave a chance of anyone bringing any knives or guns to Bay Street."