By Kimone Witter
The police have been conducting several operations in search of the suspects behind Sunday's armed robbery in Braeton Park, Portmore, St. Catherine.
Five people were wounded, including four security guards and a licensed firearm holder.
Three of the guards were shot, but their injuries are not considered life threatening.
Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Corporate Communications Unit, said the police have the identities of the people involved in the attack.
"At the moment, we can't give too much specifics in terms of where we are. But in speaking with the commanding officer, he's very satisfied that since yesterday, he’s much clearer now on what happened. They are actually getting some good leads in terms of who they are looking for and the perpetrators behind the attack," she disclosed.
SSP Lindsay added that the two vehicles used in the robbery were registered to private citizens who are to be interrogated.
She appealed to members of the public to share what they know with the police.
The attackers reportedly stole $23.2 million. Ninety-four 9 millimetre spent shells and 76 spent casings from rifles were found at the scene.
Attack not preventable?
The head of the JCF's communication arm is in support of the view that no amount of planning could have prevented Sunday's armed robbery at the Scotiabank automated teller machine (ATM) in Braeton Park, Portmore.
But Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay said the incident provides another opportunity for security firms, financial institutions and the police to review their operations.
She was responding to a comment by president of the Jamaica Society for Industrial Security (JSIS), Commander George Overton, to the Gleaner.
Commander Overton, who is Director of Public Relations for Guardsman Group, within which Beryllium falls, rejected the call for a review of regulations governing private security companies, but said the company will have to step up its response to the increased violence.
Speaking with Radio Jamaica News on Monday morning, SSP Lindsay said it is highly unlikely that the attack could have been predicted.
"When you have a system, something that you do, and when you look at how organised these criminals are, when you look at how they operate - they have guns, high-powered weapons, pistols...and the number of shots that were fired, the number of spent casings that were there - it's very difficult. Unless you are doing predictive policing and you know that they are coming and prepare for them, it would be very difficult," she asserted.
But she admitted that "the more we see these things happening, it does provide an opportunity for the company to look at what they have [and] what more can be done".
SSP Lindsay said since the February 27 armed robbery at Portmore Pines, which left a security guard dead, there have been discussions on improving the arrangements around the transportation of cash by security firms. But she acknowledged that the police recognise that "where you have these [criminals] who are very organised in their activities, there's not going to be any one system that will be full proof."
