By Michael McLean, Star Writer

Superintendent of police for the St. Elizabeth Division, Howard Francis, is promising he will continue to reduce crime and to recover more guns than his predecessor, Superintendent Maurice Robinson, in his short tenure in the parish.

Speaking in an interview with THE STAR, Francis says he plans to work with the people and to lead his men from the front.

Lead from the front

"I am here to work with the police and the resources provided here for me to do the job that I have to do," he said. "I am here to lead my men and I am going to lead them from the front, just as Mr. Robinson did. I will execute my duties and responsibilities as best as possible with my best judgement to ensure that we have best results.

The superintendent, who is making his third trip to the parish, says he is aiming to outdo his colleague in ridding the parish of guns. "I know that St. Elizabeth has a praedial larceny problem, and I recognised that Mr. Robinson recovered 10 guns one time. With this in mind I am sure that more guns are here and I want to outdo Mr. Robinson by recovering the rest of the guns that are here," he said.

On December 19 last year, about 3 a.m., the police from Santa Cruz, acting upon intelligence, went to Great Bay fishing beach in the parish where they allegedly caught four men with 10 illegal guns, eight AK47 riffles and two revolvers, along with ammunitions.

"I am sure that with the assistance of the people of St. Elizabeth and the goodwill which they are known for throughout Jamaica, they will assist me greatly in ensuring that all the guns are taken off the streets in the parish," Francis said.

The top cop, who first worked in the parish as a detective corporal in 1981, served for two years before he was transferred to Clarendon, then back to Kingston, and was again sent back to the parish as an inspector in 1997, where he worked for three years. He says it was always his dream to go back to serve in St. Elizabeth. "I recognised that this parish is one of the better parishes, one of the parishes where the people are genuine and hard working and they will go the extra mile to assist the police," he said.