Over 150 charged under Disaster Risk Management Act in Hanover

More than 150 persons have been arrested and charged under the Disaster Risk Management Act in Hanover, and over one million dollars in fines collected in that parish court for the offence, within the last six to eight weeks.

This as the Hanover police have stepped up their actions in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 among the residents.

At a recent Hanover Municipal Corporation meeting, concerns were high as to the continuous rise in the number of positive cases of the virus being identified within the parish, with a resulting decision taken to convene a meeting of stakeholders, to develop strategies to try and control the rate of spread of the disease within the parish.

Superintendent of Police in charge of Hanover, Sharon Beeput, pointed out then that the Hanover police continue to play their part in trying to get residents to adhere to the health protocols outlined.

“If all the judges in the parish had been charging the same amount for the offence, we would have cleared about four to five million dollars in fines to date,” she stated, adding that a number of the persons are showing resentment when accosted by the police, including prominent individuals.

“We will continue to enforce the Disaster Risk Management Act across the parish, and any activity that falls within that purview will be dealt with in accordance with the law under that act,” she emphasised.

“So if it is football, netball, volleyball, dance, the act (Disaster Risk Management Act) will be applied, and there might be other additional acts, like the Noise Abatement Act. Unlawful assembly under the Public Order Act might be also involved as there are several acts that can deal with the containment of crowd and crowd control, and we will continue to adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards these issues,” she stated.

As at Friday, September 18, 2020, Hanover had 44 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 471 individuals in home quarantine.

We want to hear from you! Email us at star@gleanerjm.com and follow @thejamaicastar on Instagram and on twitter @JamaicaStar, and on Facebook: @TheJamaicaStar.