BY FRANCINE BLACK, Staff Reporter
THE CONSTANT SPRING police are making serious efforts to clamp down on the robberies that have been occurring on the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses since the start of the year.
According to police there have been eight robberies since January in the Constant Spring area. In each case the thieves escaped with undisclosed sums of money, which they took from the conductor.
In one robbery three weeks ago, two men robbed a conductress of money while the bus was driving along Border Avenue.
The police say that evidence for the robberies so far since the start of the year show that they may not have been committed by the same men.
LESS THAN ONE PER CENT
Despite these robberies, JUTC public relations manager Gwyneth Harold, says she is not aware of an upsurge in robberies in that area and notes that it has not affected the company's bottom line.
She said the company earns more than $2 billion in fares every year and the money lost due to robberies is less than one per cent of these earnings.
She also says it is because of the possibility of getting robbed why the transport company encourages persons to use smart cards, thereby lessening their need to travel with cash. This also reduces the conductor or conductress' need to handle cash on their buses.
At the same time joint programmes with the police continue to ensure security on the buses, she added. She said they have been working closely with the Constant Spring Police to decrease the robberies and guarantee safety for its staff and passengers.
The police are also making headway in finding culprits behind the robberies.
Superintendent Glenford Hudson, head of the St. Andrew North Police Division, says they have arrested a number of persons for some of the robberies.
He adds that they continue to make headway in their investigations and although he would not disclose them, he says they have strategies in place to ensure the safety of passengers on the buses.
In November last year, the East Kingston police also saw a spate of robberies on JUTC buses. However, they made some arrests in connection with the robberies.
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