The Montego Bay Chamber Of Commerce And Industry has embarked on research in the crime-riddled communities of St. James.

This is in an effort to find the root causes of crime in the parish and to help the police be better able to arrest these issues.

President of the Montego Bay Chamber Of Commerce And Industry, Gloria Henry has commended the police for the new approach to policing the parish, by interacting with citizens in the community.

Gloria Henry

She adds that this is an excellent approach but will take some time to reach the root causes of crime.

Ms. Henry says the chamber has asked the University Of The West Indies to carry out a study that will properly guide the process.

The Montego Bay business community has said the police community intervention approach, in tackling the root causes of crime will require a multi-agency approach for it to be successful.

Ms. Henry states that the new community intervention strategy, employed by the St James police, needs the help of the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), the business community and the Citizens Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) along with the church.