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Bus crackdown
Police vow to clean up 'messy transport system'
BY KARYL WALKER Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator [email protected]
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Despite a protest by Portmore-based bus operators, the police yesterday vowed to keep up the pressure on the operators to conform to legal public transport practices or face prosecution.
The police have, since last week Monday, embarked on a drive to remove dark tints and audio/visual equipment from public passenger vehicles
The police have, since last week Monday, embarked on a drive to remove dark tints and audio/visual equipment from public passenger vehicles, citing lewd behaviour by minors and adults as their driving force.
So far, 270 buses and taxis have had their licence plates removed for breaches of the Transport Authority regulations, including the installation of heavily amplified sound systems and dark tints.
The cops say they have also seized two illegal firearms and a number of offensive weapons. Yesterday, police also cleared the usually congested loading areas for route taxis at North Odeon Avenue and Eastwood Park Road near the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in Kingston.
Head of the Traffic Police, Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, said the drive had just begun and would not end anytime soon.
"This is a drive to clean up the messy transport system," Lewis told the Observer. "What we have seen on the road is that the drivers and conductors are using them as mobile motels. They are showing videos and allowing young boys and conductors to have sex with minors under the guise of a lap dance."
Yesterday, police also cleared the usually congested loading areas for route taxis at North Odeon Avenue
Lewis said the lewd behaviour on the buses was the catalyst that brought on the latest police action.
"That is what propelled this drive. Anybody who thinks this is a hurry-come-up or Nicodemus in the night operation and expect it to come to a conclusion tomorrow or the next day is making a sad mistake. This operation will continue for a very long time," he said.
Cops from the Traffic Department, Flying Squad, Motorised Patrol, Highway Patrol and the Island Traffic Authority have been participating in the drive.
Officers have been searching all occupants of vehicles they stop for weapons and drugs. Vehicles are also checked to find out if they are stolen before they are searched. The traffic police will then check the documents.
If the police deem the vehicles unfit for the road, they will be impounded, Lewis said.
In protest, bus operators in Portmore, St Catherine went on a go-slow after pulling their services for a short period yesterday morning. After resuming duties, bus drivers drove slowly and turned on their headlights.
The drive has received the blessings of the Al Miller-led National Transformation Programme (NTP), which blasted the lewdness and loose moral behaviour displayed by bus crews and some passengers and implored the police to crack down on the buses found in breach of the law.
But yesterday, the Jamaica Association of Transport Operators and Owners (JATOO), in a release to the press, said Miller had no legal authority to remove tints or sound systems from public passenger vehicles.
"We are calling on the prime minister and Transportation Minister Mike Henry to tell the nation and the public transport industry what powers are vested in the NTP to do what they are doing. In our opinion, these actions are illegal," the release stated.
But Lewis said JATOO's argument was baseless.
"The NTP is a committee that wants to see order and respectability return to Jamaica. They are supportive of our actions but they are not physically involved," Lewis said.
Eastwood Park Road near the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in Kingston.
Head of the Traffic Police, Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, said the drive had just begun and would not end anytime soon.
"This is a drive to clean up the messy transport system," Lewis told the Observer. "What we have seen on the road is that the drivers and conductors are using them as mobile motels. They are showing videos and allowing young boys and conductors to have sex with minors under the guise of a lap dance."
Lewis said the lewd behaviour on the buses was the catalyst that brought on the latest police action.
"That is what propelled this drive. Anybody who thinks this is a hurry-come-up or Nicodemus in the night operation and expect it to come to a conclusion tomorrow or the next day is making a sad mistake. This operation will continue for a very long time," he said.
Cops from the Traffic Department, Flying Squad, Motorised Patrol, Highway Patrol and the Island Traffic Authority have been participating in the drive.
Officers have been searching all occupants of vehicles they stop for weapons and drugs. Vehicles are also checked to find out if they are stolen before they are searched. The traffic police will then check the documents.
If the police deem the vehicles unfit for the road, they will be impounded, Lewis said.
In protest, bus operators in Portmore, St Catherine went on a go-slow after pulling their services for a short period yesterday morning. After resuming duties, bus drivers drove slowly and turned on their headlights.
The drive has received the blessings of the Al Miller-led National Transformation Programme (NTP), which blasted the lewdness and loose moral behaviour displayed by bus crews and some passengers and implored the police to crack down on the buses found in breach of the law.
But yesterday, the Jamaica Association of Transport Operators and Owners (JATOO), in a release to the press, said Miller had no legal authority to remove tints or sound systems from public passenger vehicles.
"We are calling on the prime minister and Transportation Minister Mike Henry to tell the nation and the public transport industry what powers are vested in the NTP to do what they are doing. In our opinion, these actions are illegal," the release stated.
But Lewis said JATOO's argument was baseless.
"The NTP is a committee that wants to see order and respectability return to Jamaica. They are supportive of our actions but they are not physically involved," Lewis said.
Police vow to clean up 'messy transport system'
BY KARYL WALKER Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator [email protected]
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Despite a protest by Portmore-based bus operators, the police yesterday vowed to keep up the pressure on the operators to conform to legal public transport practices or face prosecution.
The police have, since last week Monday, embarked on a drive to remove dark tints and audio/visual equipment from public passenger vehicles
The police have, since last week Monday, embarked on a drive to remove dark tints and audio/visual equipment from public passenger vehicles, citing lewd behaviour by minors and adults as their driving force.
So far, 270 buses and taxis have had their licence plates removed for breaches of the Transport Authority regulations, including the installation of heavily amplified sound systems and dark tints.
The cops say they have also seized two illegal firearms and a number of offensive weapons. Yesterday, police also cleared the usually congested loading areas for route taxis at North Odeon Avenue and Eastwood Park Road near the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in Kingston.
Head of the Traffic Police, Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, said the drive had just begun and would not end anytime soon.
"This is a drive to clean up the messy transport system," Lewis told the Observer. "What we have seen on the road is that the drivers and conductors are using them as mobile motels. They are showing videos and allowing young boys and conductors to have sex with minors under the guise of a lap dance."
Yesterday, police also cleared the usually congested loading areas for route taxis at North Odeon Avenue
Lewis said the lewd behaviour on the buses was the catalyst that brought on the latest police action.
"That is what propelled this drive. Anybody who thinks this is a hurry-come-up or Nicodemus in the night operation and expect it to come to a conclusion tomorrow or the next day is making a sad mistake. This operation will continue for a very long time," he said.
Cops from the Traffic Department, Flying Squad, Motorised Patrol, Highway Patrol and the Island Traffic Authority have been participating in the drive.
Officers have been searching all occupants of vehicles they stop for weapons and drugs. Vehicles are also checked to find out if they are stolen before they are searched. The traffic police will then check the documents.
If the police deem the vehicles unfit for the road, they will be impounded, Lewis said.
In protest, bus operators in Portmore, St Catherine went on a go-slow after pulling their services for a short period yesterday morning. After resuming duties, bus drivers drove slowly and turned on their headlights.
The drive has received the blessings of the Al Miller-led National Transformation Programme (NTP), which blasted the lewdness and loose moral behaviour displayed by bus crews and some passengers and implored the police to crack down on the buses found in breach of the law.
But yesterday, the Jamaica Association of Transport Operators and Owners (JATOO), in a release to the press, said Miller had no legal authority to remove tints or sound systems from public passenger vehicles.
"We are calling on the prime minister and Transportation Minister Mike Henry to tell the nation and the public transport industry what powers are vested in the NTP to do what they are doing. In our opinion, these actions are illegal," the release stated.
But Lewis said JATOO's argument was baseless.
"The NTP is a committee that wants to see order and respectability return to Jamaica. They are supportive of our actions but they are not physically involved," Lewis said.
Eastwood Park Road near the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in Kingston.
Head of the Traffic Police, Superintendent Radcliffe Lewis, said the drive had just begun and would not end anytime soon.
"This is a drive to clean up the messy transport system," Lewis told the Observer. "What we have seen on the road is that the drivers and conductors are using them as mobile motels. They are showing videos and allowing young boys and conductors to have sex with minors under the guise of a lap dance."
Lewis said the lewd behaviour on the buses was the catalyst that brought on the latest police action.
"That is what propelled this drive. Anybody who thinks this is a hurry-come-up or Nicodemus in the night operation and expect it to come to a conclusion tomorrow or the next day is making a sad mistake. This operation will continue for a very long time," he said.
Cops from the Traffic Department, Flying Squad, Motorised Patrol, Highway Patrol and the Island Traffic Authority have been participating in the drive.
Officers have been searching all occupants of vehicles they stop for weapons and drugs. Vehicles are also checked to find out if they are stolen before they are searched. The traffic police will then check the documents.
If the police deem the vehicles unfit for the road, they will be impounded, Lewis said.
In protest, bus operators in Portmore, St Catherine went on a go-slow after pulling their services for a short period yesterday morning. After resuming duties, bus drivers drove slowly and turned on their headlights.
The drive has received the blessings of the Al Miller-led National Transformation Programme (NTP), which blasted the lewdness and loose moral behaviour displayed by bus crews and some passengers and implored the police to crack down on the buses found in breach of the law.
But yesterday, the Jamaica Association of Transport Operators and Owners (JATOO), in a release to the press, said Miller had no legal authority to remove tints or sound systems from public passenger vehicles.
"We are calling on the prime minister and Transportation Minister Mike Henry to tell the nation and the public transport industry what powers are vested in the NTP to do what they are doing. In our opinion, these actions are illegal," the release stated.
But Lewis said JATOO's argument was baseless.
"The NTP is a committee that wants to see order and respectability return to Jamaica. They are supportive of our actions but they are not physically involved," Lewis said.
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