St James at peace as cops put gangsters on the run
Published:Tuesday | October 7, 2025 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
While there has been an uptick in violent crimes in other parts of the island, Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels, the police commander for St James, says his team is keeping a tight grip on the parish through targeted operations aimed at discouraging gang activities.
“Our main focus has always been on the gangs, and the results are evident,” said Samuels, in outlining the strategic, intelligence-led approach being taken in areas like Flankers and Salt Spring.
“Those areas that were once troublesome are calmer now because of the targeted work we’ve done.”
Samuels further explained that several major gangs have been disrupted, some splintered, and others forced to migrate under pressure.
“We’re making sure there’s no safe haven for criminals in St James,” said Samuels, who is poised to become the first St James police commander to have fewer than 100 murders in a year since 2005.
For more than two decades, the communities of Salt Spring and Flankers were the epicentre for several murder sprees among gangsters battling for turf and spoils of drug running and lottery scamming.
Salt Spring, perched in the hills of central St James and northwestern St James, was once home to the notorious Stone Crusher Gang, which dominated the criminal underworld from the early 2000s through to the mid-2010s under the leadership of the much-feared Eldon ‘Don’ Calvert, who had a fearsome reputation for contract killings, extortion, and brutal reprisals.
After Calvert’s death in 2014, the once-powerful outfit fractured into smaller splinter gangs, including G-City, Nine, and Unknown, which led to a spate of murders as the war for turf intensified and spread to other communities across the parish.
Police records show that between 2015 and 2020, Salt Spring consistently ranked among the top communities for murders and shootings in western Jamaica. However, that has now changed through the targeted operations aimed at uprooting the gangsters.
Meanwhile, Flankers, located just outside Montego Bay’s tourist belt, also in northwestern St James, became a flashpoint for numerous gang conflicts over the past 15 years, resulting in multiple gang feuds, house burnings, and killings in an all-out war linked to extortion and the illicit drug trade.
“Flankers was a place where even the sound of a motorcycle would send people running,” a long-time resident once told The Gleaner.
However, in recent years, a combination of sustained police operations and social interventions have began to reshape the community for the better as social activities has returned with the calm that now exists.
During the period of transformation, the St James police, working alongside the Jamaica Defence Force, seized dozens of illegal firearms, dismantled gang networks, arrested several key figures, and made significant strides through initiatives such as Operation End Game and Project STAR, a partnership between the PSOJ and the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
“We’ve been partnering with communities to rebuild and sustain that sense of safety,” said Samuels. “People are earning again and managing a smoother back-to-school season. The local economy is showing real signs of recovery.”
According to Samuels, small businesses, local parties, and back-to-school fundraisers that once required police escorts are now taking place peacefully.
“Residents are beginning to trust again, they’re investing in their communities and children,” he added. “We’re not just targeting the gangs; we’re building hope. As long as residents continue to work with us, there’ll be no safe haven for criminals in St James.”