Golding, Brown Burke call for CCTV, streetlights after triple murder in Kidd Lane

Opposition Leader Mark Golding and St Andrew South West Member of Parliament Dr Angela Brown Burke are calling for improved infrastructure, including functional streetlights and CCTV cameras, to help protect vulnerable inner-city communities from violent attacks.

The two were speaking during Monday's tour of Kidd Lane, off Spanish Town Road, where 30-year-old Lashane Ellis, her one-year-old son, Kaheel Daley, and their 39-year-old neighbour, Kimeisha Gibson, were killed on Friday.

READ: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20261011/kidd-lane-terror-mom-grieves-daughter-who-begged-help-triple-murder-rocks-st

Kidd Lane is in Brown Burke’s constituency, which borders Golding’s St Andrew Southern constituency.

Describing the conditions in the community as “dismal”, Golding said the killings underscored the continued threat of violence despite a decline in Jamaica’s murder figures.

“It just reflects the fact that even though our murder statistics have improved, Jamaica is still not a safe place for many, many people,” he said. “It’s sad, because I know the police have been trying hard to get on top of things, but there’s still more work to be done.”

Brown Burke pointed to repeated instances of streetlights being deliberately destroyed by gunmen, making it difficult to maintain adequate lighting in the community.

“We had lights before. People come, they shoot out the lights, but they shoot it out also specifically to be able to do these things,” she said.

She acknowledged the challenge faced by the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) in replacing the lights when they are repeatedly damaged.

“Sometimes I know JPS doesn’t really rush to replace a light. And I understand that from a financial perspective as well, because when you put it up, it’s shot out, and you put it up, shot out again, how do you protect that asset?” Brown Burke asked.

Both politicians said technology must form part of a broader security response, supported by a sustained police presence to protect public infrastructure and restore residents’ confidence.

Golding said the police would need to maintain an ongoing presence to ensure that streetlights and CCTV cameras could be installed and protected from vandalism by criminal elements.

He argued that security measures must allow the community to stabilise and residents to resume normal life without fear.

The People's National Party president also suggested that a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) could be considered for Kidd Lane, although he reiterated his concerns about the prolonged use of the security arrangement.

Golding said there needed to be a clearer exit strategy for ZOSOs, which give security forces special powers within designated communities.

“What I think is lacking is that kind of exit strategy for ZOSOs. It’s like once you go in there, they seem to just go on,” he said.

He added that residents needed a clearer understanding of when authorities intended to return communities to a normal legal framework, noting that a ZOSO was not meant to be a permanent arrangement.

“Having said that, though, I think this is a situation where it must be considered, as maybe a way of getting this community to stabilise,” Golding said.

Brown Burke said the killings had left residents traumatised, with several people reportedly moving out of the community since Friday’s incident.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of Police Damion Manderson, the commanding officer for the St Andrew South Division, said the police were maintaining a strong presence in Kidd Lane and surrounding communities.

He said residents were cooperating with investigators but remained deeply concerned about their safety following the killing of two women and a child.

“Their concern is their security at this stage, understandable after women and a child were killed. It suggests to the average resident that it could have been me, could have been them,” Manderson said.

He added that the division’s community safety and security team had been visiting the area daily to reassure residents, engage with them and provide trauma support as the community works towards normalcy.

The police believe the killings stemmed from an internal gang feud involving young men who grew up together in the community.

“These are young men who grew up together, knew each other, know exactly about each other. And it’s unfortunate that this is the turn that things have taken,” Manderson said.

He disclosed that two individuals were in police custody and were to be interviewed by detectives as investigations continued.

Manderson also said the police had received calls from attorneys and parents of other young men identified as persons of interest in the killings. Those individuals are being urged to turn themselves in.

The senior officer maintained that the division’s relationship with residents had helped reduce crime and violence, including in the Two Miles area.

He said the community’s willingness to cooperate with investigators was evidence of the mutual trust built between the police and residents over the years.

Manderson added that, despite Friday’s tragedy, the division had been recording significant reductions in gang-related and other violence, which he attributed in part to that relationship.

- Karen Madden

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.