ST JAMES, Jamaica — Law enforcement in St James has ramped up targeted enforcement against motorcyclists violating Jamaica’s Road Traffic Act, launching a multi-pronged operation that combines expanded patrol capabilities with coordinated action to cut road fatalities and disrupt criminal movement.
A key upgrade to the division’s enforcement capacity comes with the addition of five brand-new motorcycles to the St James Police Division’s traffic department. The new fleet, paired with additional patrol vehicles and extra deployed personnel, has significantly expanded the unit’s ability to monitor streets across the parish and respond quickly to violations.
“We have been augmented by additional motorcycles and motor vehicles and also personnel so that has basically improved our capabilities,” Superintendent Lynroy Edwards, the division’s Operations Officer, told reporters during a press briefing in Sam Sharpe Square on Friday morning.
Edwards made the announcement on the sidelines of an active enforcement operation in downtown Montego Bay, where officers pulled over dozens of motorcyclists to verify vehicle registration, licensing, and compliance with road safety rules. The operation is part of a nationwide initiative led by the Public Safety and National Enforcement Branch (PSTEB) that aims to reverse persistent trends in road fatalities across the island. As part of this national push, St James police are prioritizing enforcement across all high-risk categories of Road Traffic Act violations.
Beyond improving road safety, the crackdown also serves as a key tool in the division’s long-running fight against violent crime. Over recent years, St James has made significant progress in reining in violent criminal activity, but law enforcement officials note that persistent work remains to consolidate those gains. Many organized criminals and fugitives in the parish use motorcycles to move quickly between communities and carry out illegal acts, taking advantage of the vehicles’ ability to navigate narrow residential streets and avoid heavy traffic checkpoints.
“Our motorcyclists, our quick response teams, we target hardcore criminals who move around on motorcycles and even motor cars, they are our focus as well,” Edwards explained.
While the high-visibility operation in the city centre drew public attention on Friday, the enforcement blitz actually launched at the start of the week. As of Friday, the operation has already yielded notable results: more than 70 non-compliant motorcycles have been seized by authorities, and at least 13 people have been taken into custody on related charges, Corporal Ellington Clarke of the St James Police reported to the Observer Online.
On Thursday alone, officers fanned out across both the central business district of St James and rural outposts, seizing 20 additional motorcycles for violations ranging from unregistered vehicles to unlicensed operation. Nine arrests were made during that single day of action, and multiple traffic tickets were issued to other riders found in violation of safety rules, Clarke added.