And with this latest murder along with that of 30-year-old Sylvian Swift last Thursday, are gang-related killings on the rise again?
Since the death of William Dawson earlier this year, gang murders have decreased, with the suspicion that those in the criminal world were keeping the peace as their mentor would have wanted.
But is that peace now over? The Commissioner of Police doesn't think so or at least that's what he's projecting in what looks to be a kind of damage control mode. Today he told us that they had anticipated flare ups, but the effects of the LIU are still being felt throughout the streets.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We are not naïve to believe that because of the efforts that we are doing through LIU that the gang problem will just disappear in its entirety and so quickly. We do operate on a daily basis, anticipating that there will be occasions where there will be flare ups. And it cannot be that we take these incidents and cast away the program or assume that the program is not working. But what we must do and what we have been doing when we do have these flare ups is to see how we can calm the storm. I know that there are going to be some people who will say that the program is not working, but believe you me, and I am sure that you, as members of the media, can also attest to the fact that the crime, particularly gang-related incidents, is down and that is a direct result of the work that we have been doing through LIU and the effectiveness of the police on the grounds. We have been able to ensure that with the 2 murders we have had, the one on Police Street and the one on Antelope Street, that there is no retaliation."
"We just came out of an intervention session with the group from George Street and again, the George Street issue is more like a domestic situation, because it's like an intra-rivalry between those elements. And when you do have intra-rivalries, it is often more difficult to contain, because they all know each other's movements, whereabouts and everything, and so it is much easier for them to find their rivals as opposed to when you have cross-gang incidents. The one on Police Street, we will be doing an intervention session this afternoon."
Reporter
"The Pook family seems to think that while the police department is labelling it as a gang shooting, the parents Mr. and Mrs. Pook, they are adamant that their sons are not involved in any type of gang activity and that the shooter was hiding in their yard. Just so happens that he choose their yard to hide in and that's why Adrian was shot. They feel that the police though is labelling a different thing on this incident."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I'm not going to have a back and forth with the grieving family. That is their view. We have our views and I'll leave it at that."
The ComPol has instructed the GI-3 to target those gang elements who refuse to keep that peace in an effort to get them off the street.
